A New Beginning Part I
by Jessica Barber
Summary: See prologue


A New Beginning Part I  
Jessica Barber  
ghitsa_dogder@hotmail.com  
Spoilers: Jedi Academy Series  
PG 13  
Disclaimer — See Prologue  
Time Setting: Seven and a half years after Battle of Endor/  
Months after Jedi Academy Series  
  
  
  
  
"It's a long, lonely ride, Princess." Han said affectionately.  
Leia kissed Han goodbye. "I'll miss you while you're  
gone, too."  
Han smiled lopsidedly at his wife. Her brown hair was  
down, reaching past her waist. Her eyes sparkled -- that  
was new, it had been so long since she had been this bright.   
She needed this break. She wore a light gray flight suit; she  
was ready to board her own personal ship, the _Alderaan_.   
"I know. Have fun on Yavin Four."  
"Sure you don't want to bring the children along?" Leia  
asked, jokingly.  
"To Tatooine? Are you kidding?"  
Han and Leia stood in front of the _Millennium Falcon_.   
Chewbacca was waiting inside the cockpit, ready to fly the  
Corellian ship off of Coruscant. Han could not wait to  
leave, yet he did not want to leave his wife behind. Han had  
been planning on a break for a while, but when he had  
finally been given the chance, the best idea he could come  
up with was to visit Tatooine. A few of his old smuggler  
friends were probably still hanging out in the cantinas,  
perhaps they could stir up some trouble.   
Leia on the other hand was going to the Jedi Academy on  
Yavin Four to visit her brother. Surprisingly she was given  
a break from her new duties as Chief of State, Han had  
sworn it was either a miracle, or Leia had screwed up  
everyone's mind on the Inner Council with the Force. Leia  
had only laughed at him.  
"You be careful, Princess." Han said, smiling into his  
wife's brown eyes. She was so beautiful. "Make sure  
Threepio is capable of taking care of the kids."  
Leia smiled. "He will, with the help of Winter, of course.   
The kids would probably end up tearing all of Threepio's  
circuits out before tomorrow morning if Winter weren't  
there."  
"You're right about that." Han looked up the ramp of the  
_Falcon_ as he heard Chewbacca bellow from the cockpit.   
"Okay, okay. I hear you Chewie!" He yelled up the ramp.   
"See you later, Sweetheart. Tell Luke I said hi."  
"Sure thing, Han." Leia kissed him one last, quick time.  
Han strode up the ramp, looking back only once. Looking  
back too late; Leia was gone. Han frowned, but continued  
on to the cockpit. Chewbacca sat waiting impatiently in the  
copilot's seat. Han slipped into the pilot's seat. The ready  
lights were lit up. Han re-checked everything, being  
scolded in the process from Chewbacca who had gone over  
everything while waiting on Han. After Chewbacca's brief  
lecture of why he wasn't appreciated as much as he had  
been, Han lifted the _Falcon_ off the landing pad of the  
Imperial Palace.  
Chewbacca growled and then grumbled something under  
his breath.  
Han smirked at the brown haired Wookie. "So what if  
I've turned into a softie? I love my wife."  
Chewbacca growled again, this time it was shorter and he  
did not mumble.   
"There's nothing wrong with long goodbyes. Sorry I kept  
you waiting."  
Chewbacca grunted.  
"Yeah. I agree. Finally we're away from Coruscant.   
Finally Leia's away, too."  
Chewbacca grumbled.  
"I may be a softie, but I'm not an _old_ softie."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
It was mid-day and as hot as ever. Squat, sun-bleached  
structures lined the streets of Mos Eisley: a place that  
offered no grand welcome to the visitors and natives who  
milled around in the open, dirt roads. Making his way  
through the crowded streets of Mos Eisley, Micht pushed  
his way past an odd collection of aliens. The large, red twin  
suns of Tatooine lay overhead, fanning heat throughout the  
entire city. Heat waves, almost like water, visible in their  
intensity, taunted Micht, making him thirsty. Micht pushed  
his brown, sweat-soaked hair out of his handsome face and  
continued on to the Star Sung Cantina where he was to  
meet up with Serena. Micht hated Tatooine, but he loved  
being around the scum that existed in it. Mos Eisley was  
like a heaven to him. In Mos Eisley questions were rarely  
asked; identification seldom needed, for illegal trade was the  
economy of the city. If only it could be cooler.  
Micht was from Naybetr, a planet with three small  
continents, ninety-five percent of it being one large ocean.   
Micht had grown up on Brine, the smallest of the three  
continents. He had grown up surrounded by water. He had  
grown up loving water; at night he dreamed of the cool,  
ocean winds, and the white surf. Now he was on one of  
the, if not the most, driest planets in the galaxy. 'I go from  
heaven to hell,' Micht thought dryly.  
Ahead of him, Micht saw the Star Sung Cantina. It was a  
plain, single-leveled, squared, sun-bleached abode. Nothing  
of any importance, it was just where he had told Serena to  
meet him. Outside the doorway that led into the Cantina  
stood a young woman . . . teenager. She was kicking up  
clouds of dirt from off the street with the toe of her boot  
like she had nothing better to do with her life. Micht  
recognized her immediately as Serena. He wondered why  
she was not inside the place like they had agreed.  
Now angry, he was easily angered, of course, he could  
never stay angry for long, Micht stomped up to Serena. "I  
told you to meet me inside! Do you know how many spies  
there are out here?"  
Serena stared at Micht with indifference. She sighed, "If  
you keep yelling, of course there will be spies everywhere."  
She spoke neutrally. The girl's response annoyed Micht.  
"Just go inside," he ground out.  
Serena shook her head. "No, I have a certain . . . problem  
. . . with the place. I don't like it. We'll walk. Sorry I  
didn't mention this problem earlier."  
Micht stared at the girl in disbelief, but allowed himself to  
follow her away from the Star Sung Cantina and into a  
crowd of short Jawas. Micht pushed and kicked them away  
like dogs. They twittered and threw their thin fingers at  
him, gesticulating wildly. Micht just _knew_ that they were  
yelling out a stream of curses. Micht and Serena walked in  
silence until they were away from the twittering Jawas and  
no one of any suspicion seemed to be following them.  
"I have the money, but do you have the spice?"  
Serena, in the shadow of an overhanging balcony of one of  
the nicer buildings, narrowed her eyes. "Yes, all of what  
you wanted."  
"Give it to me." Micht held out his hand, Serena laughed  
coldly.  
Spice was the name of a genre of different kinds of drugs.   
The kind Micht was buying from Serena was a mix of two  
of the best. At least, these had the best effect on him. Most  
of the mix was made up of glitterstim spice, which was  
mined in tunnels underground on the planet Kessel. It was  
usually legal and taxed, but in Micht's case it was illegal for  
it was not taxed and he was using it as a drug for himself  
and not for its usual purpose. Spice was mostly used for  
psychological therapy, entertainment, and a number of other  
things. This giltterstim spice, though, was a mood-altering  
spice, which when taken gave one feelings of elation. The  
other, smaller part of the mix was ryll. Ryll was mined on  
the planet Ryloth, the home planet of the Twi'leks. It was a  
weaker form of spice, much more addictive, though, and  
could be taken the illegal way, as a drug. Not a drug for  
medication, but as a drug to get the same kind of pleasure  
Micht received from taking mood-altering spice. Micht  
knew that ryll was addictive, but he did not care. It was  
dangerous to his health, but he really did not care about that  
either.  
"Why?" Serena asked, trying to put on a mask of  
innocence.  
"I need it."  
Micht knew that if Serena were the type that showed  
expressions, she would have looked at him with a sly smile,  
instead she showed no emotion on her face, but her eyes  
told all. "For what, Micht? I think I should know, or I'll  
double the price. After all, I did risk my life getting this for  
you. And, the only reason I got it was because we're such  
great friends."  
"I like it. Okay?" Micht opened his palm wider and  
slightly shook his arm and hand, trying to hurry her up.   
"Can I have it now?"  
Serena pulled out a small black bag from her pocket. "It's  
not for any of your clientele?"  
Micht shook his head. "No, it's for me. _Can I have it_?"  
"I see, now, remind me. How much money did you say  
you'd be paying me?"  
Micht pulled out a similar bag from the pocket of his gray  
jacket. "Four-hundred and fifty credits." Micht tried to take  
the bag of spice from her, but Serena pulled her arm back.   
"I want to count it."  
"But . . . it's four hundred and fifty. Do you really think I  
would fleece you?"  
"If it is the amount you say it is, then you shouldn't have  
any problem with my counting it," Serena explained  
monotonously.   
"Fine, but hurry. It's burning up here, I want to leave."  
"At least you haven't had to live here for four years,  
Micht." Serena said as she put the spice back in her pocket  
and took the money from Micht.  
Serena squatted down under the shadowed overhang and  
poured out the credits, her back to the public. Hunkering  
down beside her, Micht watched as she quickly counted the  
credits.  
"Hey, Sere. Why stay here, huh?"  
"I know my people, my contacts." Serena said, half her  
mind on counting the credits, the other half on Micht.  
"Well, just come to Coruscant with me, babe. I'm  
planning to start my own smuggling operations. Bye-bye  
big guys like Talon Karrde. Micht is comin' through!"  
Serena managed an infinitesimal smile. "No way, Micht."  
"Hey, we're friends."  
Serena shook her head, "Yeah, that's why I won't go with  
ya. I also need as much money as I can scrounge around  
here and find. As long as I meet people like you my stack  
of credits will get larger."  
"You in debt, Sere?" Micht asked.  
"Yeah," There was a brief, uncomfortable, pause, "a little."  
"With whom? Look, I know most people and I could hide  
you from 'em."  
"From Sapht?" Serena asked, finally bringing her full  
attention to Micht by lifting her face up to him, one  
eyebrow arched over a gray-green eye.  
Micht's brown eyes widened and he kept himself from  
studying her tanned, angular face. "You got mixed up with  
Sapht? I can't hide you from him. Sorry, babe. I would if I  
could . . . but this man kept himself from getting killed by  
Boba Fett, he's real dangerous, Sere."  
Serena moved her face back down to the golden brown  
sand where the credits lay, a few strands of hair fell into her  
face and she pushed them behind her ear. "I know."  
"You close to getting the money he needs?"  
"No," Serena said as she poured the credits back into the  
black sack. "Ten credits short, Micht." Serena and Micht  
both stood up.  
Micht blushed, "That was an accident, I promise." He  
pulled fourteen credits from a pocket located on the side of  
his dark pants, drew ten out of the small pile, and threw the  
coins to Serena.  
Serena caught them and put them in the black sack. She  
then pulled out the bag of spice again and threw it to Micht.   
Micht caught it with both hands. "You be careful, Micht.   
Don't let anyone catch you with this. You're too young,"  
Serena's voice took on a glimmer of amused sarcasm, "and  
handsome, to be buried in a rotting jail cell."  
"Yeah, wouldn't want a handsome twenty-two-year-old  
like me to go and get in trouble . . .Hey, as soon as you pay  
off Sapht, come find me on Coruscant, okay? We can get  
together for a drink or something."  
Serena rolled her eyes and stepped out from under the  
overhang and into the bright light of the twin suns. Micht  
followed her. "Look, Micht, you be careful with that stuff.   
Every time I see you, you want more and more of it to be  
made of ryll, and you know how dangerous ryll can be. I  
don't like your messing around with that kind of thing.   
Please be careful, huh?" Serena's face showed no  
expression, but Micht knew she really did care about him;  
she had to care about him, he was her only friend.  
"Don't worry about me, Serena. But, I'm serious.   
Promise me you'll come to Coruscant and look me up? I'm  
going to be there a couple of months doing some business.   
Hey, if I get going real good and have a booming smuggling  
operation, you can join up with me and become a  
smuggler."  
Serena's eyes widened with a little bit of interest at the  
idea of being a smuggler. "Sure. Sure, I promise. Being a  
smuggler might be fun. But, if I don't show up, and some  
day we accidently meet up, here probably, don't get all mad  
and kill me, okay?"  
Micht smiled, "All right. I'll be careful; you just be sure to  
pay off Sapht. _You_ be careful. Bye then," Micht said  
casually, a little too casually. He knew he'd miss her and he  
should have hugged the girl or something. He stepped away  
from Serena and into the crowded streets of Mos Eisley.   
He'd been doing business with Serena for the past year, and  
she was the first person he had found that had not tried to  
cheat him in any way. She was a truthful and trustworthy  
contact, but he felt sorry for the girl. She was a beautiful  
eighteen-year-old stuck on a rotten desert world without  
anywhere to go, and unwilling to go anywhere with him.   
He did not understand why she would not want to come  
with him to Coruscant even if Sapht did follow her. She  
could probably make more money on Coruscant anyway.   
Maybe, no matter what she said about hating the place,  
something was binding her here. Who knew.  
Micht turned back around and saw Serena where he had  
left her. Now, though, her back was to the wall and she  
was once again kicking up a cloud of dirt. Somehow, he  
knew he'd see her again. It might be a long while, but we'll  
run into each other at some point, he thought to himself as a  
reptilian dewback covered Serena from view.  
  
* * *  
  
Serena walked through the shadow filled streets of  
Tatooine. A hot wind blew, buffeting her hair away from  
her white tank top and over her shoulders. Serena shivered  
slightly, though nothing showed on her face. A few locks of  
light brown hair fanned around her face as the wind  
suddenly changed course and swirled like a tornado around  
her. Serena looked up at the sky for a moment; you could  
not risk but a moment on the streets of Mos Eisley. Mos  
Eisley was the worst place you could possibly find yourself  
on Tatooine. However, for Serena, Mos Eisley was the best  
city to be in. It had the most scoundrels and the richest  
beings who longed for things like spice or other exotic  
products in all of Tatooine.  
Serena loathed Tatooine, it was as simple as that, and as  
soon as she could she would be off this sizzled brown rock  
for good. The heat was close to unbearable, even though  
over the past few months she had slowly gotten used to it.   
The main reason Serena hated this place was that no one  
here even understood what being humane was, so Serena  
had been living the life of a street walker, roamer, wanderer,  
nomad . . . the list went on and on. She tried her best to  
earn money, but it sometimes seemed as if this way of life  
were a waste of time. So, she stole food when she was  
hungry, clothing when she needed to be clothed, and money  
when she needed money, of course, going around stealing  
only gave her pittance. Serena, unlike what she had told  
Micht, did not have contacts. She had one contact, the  
owner of an unpopular cantina. But, the owner knew how  
to get spice, and a few people like Micht needed spice. The  
owner of the cantina only asked for ten percent of what she  
made, that was not bad at all. But, she still did not make  
enough money from that, for she did not know enough  
people or beings like Micht. Serena usually -- it was easier  
than selling spice anyway -- stole money from aliens or  
humans that were not from Mos Eiseley, pick pocketing  
them, or holding them up with her blaster. Today, though,  
there were very few out-of-towners, and if there were any,  
they were poor and helpless like herself.  
Except, she corrected herself, she was not helpless. She  
had been on Tatooine for four years, and in little more than  
one she had learned the tricks of surviving in Mos Eisley, or  
anywhere for that matter. She had drilled these rules into  
her mind, gone over them every morning when she woke up  
. . . usually in a dump building or her ship . . . and every  
night before she went to sleep. They were simple now that  
she had memorized them: Trust no one. Steal only when  
you need something. Stay away from the cantinas. Make  
people think you're married. Trust no one. Let no one  
follow you and get away with it. Killing in Mos Eisley was  
like eating lunch on Coruscant. Trust no one. Do not go  
out when it is dark or you will die. Lie to everyone -- Micht  
was the one exception. Trust no one.  
The last twin sun was just beginning to set, and pink,  
purple, and green colors streaked across the ever-darkening  
sky. The sun's orange rays spread over Serena's bare and  
tanned shoulders, tanned from wandering the crowded  
streets everyday for the past year. The notable muscles on  
her arms and legs had once been covered by pale skin, now  
they were covered in a tan shimmer.   
Serena wore a pair of loose fitting, dark blue pants with  
the Corellian Bloodstripe on them. She had stolen them a  
long time ago from a Corellian bounty hunter, who had  
stupidly left her guarding his ship for a small price. Wide  
eyes and naivete were the easiest ways to trick grown men.   
Her pants were tucked into tight fitting black boots, which  
came up to the bottom of her knees. Tucked into her right  
boot was a small blaster pistol and dagger. Encircling her  
hips was a thick leather belt that held her blaster and  
vibroblade. Serena had tied the black leather belt as tightly  
as she could, but it did not help, in fact, even though it was  
tied tightly on her right side it sloped down to the top part  
of her thigh.  
Serena had thick honey-brown hair that billowed down to  
about three inches below her shoulders. She had dark gray-  
green eyes that always made her look as if she were day  
dreaming. She had perfectly shaped, full lips and a beautiful  
smile, though she rarely ever smiled or showed any feelings  
on her face.   
Serena reached the docking bays just as the last rays of the  
setting sun spread their dim light over Tatooine. Mos Eisley  
began to light up: small lights, timidly lit, adorned very few  
buildings which made it hard for Serena to see where she  
was going. Her eyes were not as used to the dark as other's  
were; being human, her eyes were not made to be able to  
see through black darkness. Thus, she rarely came out at  
night. Besides, nighttime on Tatooine meant trouble for  
someone who did not know their way around. Even though  
Serena knew every part of Mos Eisley, it was still a very  
dangerous place for someone like herself.  
Serena could have agreed to leave with Micht, but  
something else was telling her not to. Something was  
telling her to stay until . . . 'Until what? Until I die? I hate  
it here, I hate Mos Eisley, and that's why . . . why I don't  
understand why I must stay . . . what is binding me to this  
place?' Mos Eisley was one of the worst places to find  
yourself in all the galaxy. Spies from the Empire filled every  
corner, not to mention spies from smuggling organizations  
and bounty hunters. The only kinds of creatures you found  
here were those out for themselves and their highly prized  
money. Someone could be your friend one day, and the  
next want to kill you because someone was paying them ten  
credits to do so. Mos Eisley was indeed the scrap heap of  
the universe.   
Serena gazed past the buildings and into the desert  
surrounding her. Dunes of golden brown sand stretched  
across the dry, barren land bordering Mos Eisley. As the  
sky swallowed up the sun, the sand seemed to change from  
a golden brown color to a chilling white. The once searing  
breeze suddenly became cold, chilling Serena to the bone.   
In the distance she was able to make out, against the ever  
darkening sky, the even darker outline of the Jundland  
Wastes: a chain of mountains bordering the Dune Sea.   
Serena licked her dry lips. There might have been a breeze  
blowing, but it was still as arid as could be. Serena turned a  
corner, and lost her view of the empty desert. The desert  
was usually empty, except for the Jawas and an occasional  
Sand Person. Most living things stayed in Mos Eisley or  
Anchorhead. The only humans whom Serena knew lived in  
the desert were the ones who owned moisture farms such as  
the one that the great Luke Skywalker's uncle and aunt had  
owned.  
Serena overrode a code on one of the large metal doors  
and watched as the door slowly opened. She looked inside,  
but all that was there was another heap of junk. She let the  
door close and moved on to the next. She poked her head  
inside, but the bay was empty.   
The stars had begun to come out, and Serena was in a  
hurry; she needed to find a place soon before some male  
alien or human found her interesting. Making as little noise  
as possible, Serena walked on until she reached docking bay  
seventeen. She overrode the system and watched the door  
open.  
There was a sorta-ship-looking thing in it, and, she  
decided, it would probably be her best shot. She took a  
deep breath, and walked up to the ship, examining it.   
Personally, to her, it was another heap of junk. Yet, you  
could not read a book by it's cover, and maybe this ship was  
a really good one. From what Serena had heard about the  
hero Han Solo's ship, it was a hunk of junk, but it was a  
highly modified hunk of junk that had outrun Imperial ships  
more than enough.  
Serena looked for the opening to the ship, and when she  
had found it, she began to override the lock and password.   
Something good had to be in this ship. She needed  
something, anything, to pay off her debts. It was either this  
or sell her ship, and she would never sell the _Corellian  
Sunrise._   
"Oh! Come on you stupid piece of junk! Open up! Why  
isn't this work-" Serena stopped in mid-sentence, sensing  
danger, and then she heard the familiar sound of a blaster  
being pulled out of a holster. Before she could turn around,  
the blaster was put against her back. Serena froze in place,  
trying to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat.  
"Okay, sweetheart. Put your hands up, and turn around . .  
. slowly," a brusque male voice said.  
Serena could feel the man's hot breath travel down her  
back. Her stomach twisted into a knot. She was dead, no  
telling what this man would do to her. A young girl all  
alone . . . Micht had told her to be careful . . .  
He jabbed the blaster into her back harder, "Now," he said  
harshly.  
Serena turned around slowly, and put her hands up in the  
air.  
The man was probably in his late thirties, maybe older. He  
had brown eyes and wispy brown hair. He wore a long-  
sleeved white shirt, covered by a dark, unzipped, aged vest.   
His worn-out pants bore the Corellian Bloodstripe in  
yellow. The man was tall, and rather handsome, uncannily  
familiar. Serena lifted back her head to look at him in the  
eyes.  
The blaster, leveled at her stomach, was moved up to her  
chest. She begun her much practiced speech. She was  
prepared for times like this one. This was not the first time  
she had been caught in the act of robbing a ship. "Look, I  
was just passing through when -"  
He interrupted her, "When you saw the docking bay door,  
overrode the code, saw my ship, tried to get into it . . .  
because?"  
"Because, I saw your ship and thought that this might be a  
smuggler's ship, looks like Han Solo's. I was going to wait  
till you came back." Serena said quickly, remembering her  
conversation with Micht earlier that day.  
"In my ship?"  
She frowned, "No."  
"Why would you want to be a smuggler anyway?"  
"I wanna job." 'Anyway,' Serena continued silently, 'it  
does sound rather fun. A lot better than what I'm doing  
now.'  
"Have your parents get you a job; you look too young for  
smuggling. How old are you?"   
"I'm eighteen, and very good with my blaster." Serena  
backed up half a step and looked up at him darkly, "I'm  
very dangerous, so don't even _try_ to touch me."  
"Look, kid, I'm not that kind of person, and you are just a  
kid. So, like I said, have your parent get you a job."  
"I would, but they're sorta dead."  
The man paused, "Oh. Well," another pause, "sorry kid."  
He paused again, "Well, I was a smuggler once, but not  
anymore. I got nothing to offer you, but-"  
The man loosened his grip on the blaster, Serena knocked  
it out of his hand quickly, and dashed past the man. She  
looked back for a moment, saw the man pick up his blaster,  
saw something large come out from the other side of the  
ship. Serena turned back around and ran as fast as she  
could to the docking bay doors.  
"Hey! Kid! Stop!"  
When Serena halted to open the door, a big, hairy arm  
grabbed her and held her up in the air. Serena bent her  
knees up to her chest and grabbed the dagger out of her  
boots. She took it in her right hand and stabbed the hairy  
thing in the arm. It cried, roaring in pain. The tall, brown  
haired beast dropped her forcefully.  
Serena scrambled up and opened the small door. She ran  
out of the docking bay and past the other doors which she  
had entered earlier. The man, running hard and faster than  
Serena, caught up to her quickly and grabbed her around  
the waist with his free hand, his other hand holding his  
blaster. He pulled her back to him. Serena quickly lost her  
balance and stumbled backwards, pushing the man onto the  
ground. The man's grip was tight around Serena's waist  
and she fell on top of him. The blaster rammed painfully  
into her back and went off.  
All of sudden Serena could feel nothing but a dull  
throbbing pain throughout her entire body. She could not  
move, could not even open her eyes. She could just picture  
the blood gushing out of her back. It made her sick, well,  
she at least knew that if she could even feel her stomach she  
would be sick. All feelings were gone; she could not  
understand why she was numb but for the pain. Nothing  
like this had ever happened to her before, but then, she had  
never been shot before, either. Unconsciousness enveloped  
Serena.   
  
* * *  
  
Serena woke up. She slowly opened her eyes and when  
they had focused, she saw a big hairy beast standing over  
her. It was tall with brown fur and wore what seemed to be  
a bowcaster strapped to its back. Around its lower arm was  
a white bandage where Serena had stabbed it. The creature  
looked at her and cried out.  
Serena yelped and sat up. A sharp pain went up her spine;  
she grimaced, but stood up anyway. The same stinging pain  
went through her legs.  
Serena backed away from the animal and hit against a cot  
on which she had been lying. She slowly began to walk  
around the creature and started heading toward the opening.   
From the looks of her surroundings she surmised that she  
was in a ship, nevertheless she could not be sure. But,  
Serena was mostly concentrating on the tall animal before  
her. Then, the man from earlier rushed into the room and  
skidded to a halt, lightly smiling.   
"Oh, its just Chewie."  
"It's just who?" Serena asked scowling, not knowing what  
he was talking about. She had a painful headache.  
"It's just Chewbacca, my partner."  
"An animal is your partner?" Serena asked dryly.   
The man scowled this time. "He's a Wookie, not an  
animal."  
"I'm sorry, forgive me. And one more thing, what  
happened, where am I, and how long have I been here?" She  
asked coldly.  
"Six hours, my ship, and my blaster went off. It shot you,  
but luckily it was only on stun."  
"Luckily? My whole body feels like it's on fire, and I have  
a headache. _That's_ not luck."  
"Would you rather be dead?"  
"No." She frowned up at him. "Anyway, I had better go,  
how do I get out of here?" Serena started walking towards  
the doorway when the man hesitantly stepped in front of  
her.  
"Wait, the reason that I _tried_ to stop you at first was  
because I know somebody that might hire you, but you have  
to be really good."  
Serena feigned calmness, folding her arms over her chest.  
"I _am_ really good, but why did not you just tell me that?   
You did not have to chase me and then shoot me to get my  
attention!"   
The man shrugged. "Usually when someone starts running  
from you, your instincts tell you to run after them. You  
could have stolen something. I don't know. Anyway, you  
have a ship?"  
"Yeah."  
"Which docking bays? These?"   
"No, it'll take me a good time to get to where the docking  
bays are, they're a good hour from here, and since its night .  
. ." She paused. The man nodded. "Since its night, I'm not  
going out there. It's dangerous at night."   
"How about me and Chewie here accompany you? We can  
go with you, and you can wait for us in space, until we get  
there. We can give you the coordinates, and then we can  
go."  
She looked at him uneasily and said nothing. "Go where?"  
she asked warily after a few minutes of strained silence  
ticked by.  
"Don't worry, I'm a good guy. Trust me." The man  
chuckled.   
"Well," She paused unsure. "Well, since I always go by my  
feelings, and since my feelings are telling me to go, I guess  
the only way I can answer that is: 'Yep, sounds fine to  
me.'" Serena said easily, not knowing why she was even  
talking to this stranger. But, his looks . . . he looked so  
familiar.  
"Good. Let's get going. Come on Chewie." He waved his  
hand and started walking, with Serena right beside him. The  
brown Wookie fell in step with the man.  
"So, what's your name, kid?"  
"Serena. And you can stop calling me 'kid.'"  
The small group walked out of the ship. The man sealed  
the ship up, and they left through the door. It was late at  
night, but the city was alive with activity. A chilled wind  
blew softly.  
For a while neither talked. It did not bother Serena  
because she was busy enjoying the night air. This was the  
first in a long time that she had walked out at night. Then  
she realized that she had no idea who the man was. She  
looked up at him; he seemed to be concentrating -- his  
mind off in some other region of the galaxy.  
"Well?"  
"Well, what?" he asked looking down at her.  
"What's your name, or should you not tell me?"  
"I would guess it doesn't matter. I'm Han Solo, I'm  
surprised you haven't noticed."  
Serena's eyes widened for only a moment, and then her  
face went back to the calm uncaring facade it had always  
been. Realization had taken over. "You're not Han Solo."  
"I am too. Anyway, how would you know if I was or  
not?"  
Serena studied the older man's face. She stopped walking  
and stared at him. Her mouth opened and closed, not able  
to utter a sound. When she had been younger she had seen  
pictures of the famous Han Solo. She had thought he  
would have been older. But the man was definitely  
Corellian, he had a Wookie with him, and he looked like the  
pictures she had seen. "You are! You're Han Solo! Wow!   
You're Han Solo! If I had known that was your ship I  
would not have touched it."  
Han looked back at her and gave a lop-sided grin. "Yeah,  
I'm Han Solo."   
The once soft blowing wind was now picking up speed,  
surrounding Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Serena in sand.   
The wind made howling noises as it made its way through  
the alleyways. The aliens and other humans that were out  
quickly ran into buildings on either side of the street.  
"Looks like a sandstorm is coming up." Han said, looking  
away from Serena to study the empty streets.  
Serena nodded. "Yeah, we had better find some shelter  
until it blows over."  
The once peaceful sky was only slightly visible as the wind  
picked up speed, throwing up more and more sand with it.   
Serena, Han, and Chewbacca walked faster until they  
reached a building with a small sign by the door reading that  
it was the Star Sung Cantina.  
Han Solo and Chewbacca slowed, thankful that they had  
reached a building when Serena grabbed Solo's arm and  
pulled him back.   
"We're going in there?" asked Serena, worriedly, even  
though she let her face show no fear. She had heard of this  
place; she had been in this place. It wasn't as bad as other  
cantinas, but she had only been in a cantina once, and this  
was the one. She had gotten herself into big trouble. Ever  
since then Serena had decided never to go back. Yet, here  
she was with the great Han Solo, outside the Star Sung  
Cantina once again.   
"Don't tell me you're afraid," he said.   
"Well." Serena looked at the open doorway where thin  
cascades of light filtered through the sand-filled night. This  
was where she had first met Sapht and his gang. What if he  
or any of his men just happened to be here? They would  
certainly recognize her. Then she would be dead.  
"Let's go, unless you want to stay out here and wait for  
the storm." Han Solo spoke, not waiting for an answer.   
Serena gave up and walked through the entrance with Han  
and Chewbacca.   
The Cantina was barely lighted, and with all the smoke the  
light was even dimmer. It was hot, and it smelled like  
sweat. The cantina was full of aliens Serena knew about  
and aliens that Serena did not want to know about. There  
were tables of creatures playing sabacc and other card  
games. Han walked up to the bar and received the  
bartender's attention quickly.  
Serena looked carefully around. As far as she could tell,  
there were no men who worked for Sapht, but that did not  
mean that they were not here. Since the place was so  
crowded they could be hanging out in any of the darkened  
corners of the room. It had seemed to Serena, a long time  
ago, that Sapht was continuously hiring people, which  
meant that anyone of Sapht's thugs could recognize her and  
she would not espy him.  
"Corellian whiskey, two." Serena heard Han say.  
The bartender nodded and turned his back to Han and  
Serena. When the bartender handed the drinks over, Han  
asked him if there were any private room available. The  
older man nodded to a back door. Han took up his and  
Serena's drinks, and upon reaching the back of the cantina,  
he opened a door facing a poorly furnished room.   
Before entering the room Serena stopped Han by putting  
her hand on his shoulder. "Where's your Wookie friend,  
Chewbacca?"  
Han nodded to a table. Sitting at it were a male and  
female human, a Rodian, and a Wookie, which Serena  
recognized as Chewbacca. "He's in a game of sabacc  
already. I think he's losing." Han answered, after the  
Wookie roared what seemed to be an expression of anger.  
Serena began to smile, but stopped. "That's a shame," she  
said without any feeling in her voice.  
Han and Serena walked through a small door, into a  
melancholy room that was very different from the rest of the  
Cantina. It was dimly lit, but there was no smoke in the  
gloomy air, though a slight hint of spice hung in the air.  
There were four tables in the room. The room was a dark  
olive green, and the tables were made of dark brown wood.   
A single, pale, yellow light hung over each wooden table  
casting phantoms in the corners of the room. There were  
also six large, gray stone columns squared off at the edges,  
connecting the ceiling and the floor. Four were near the  
corners of the room, and the other two were in between the  
corners, abutting the wall as if they were a part of it.  
At the far end of the room, next to the back wall, was a  
group of four female Gotals whose gray and black furs were  
slowly falling to the floor. They nervously looked at Serena  
and Han, then out the window located at the far end of the  
room. Maybe they sensed something wrong. Whatever it  
was, Serena ignored it.  
Han and Serena sat at the table in the center of the room.   
"So, kid . . . I mean, Serena, what's your last name?"  
Serena stared at her drink for a moment before answering.  
"Well, it's, it's . . . Maldrin. Serena Maldrin."  
"Then you're not from Tatooine." Han eyed the girl; she  
looked as if she were about to kick herself.  
"Um, no, I'm Corellian . . . yeah, Corellian. That's it.   
That's why my ship is called the Corellian Sunrise."   
"How did your parents die then?" Han asked, getting the  
sense that she was lying to him. He was not surprised.  
"Uh, I don't exactly know. One day they were there and  
the next they were gone."  
Han frowned and decided to leave the subject alone. With  
drink in hand, Han watched Serena. She had not touched  
her drink, and she seemed to be thinking of something. Han  
left her alone, and began to wonder what he was doing,  
bringing this girl with him. He did not even know who she  
really was.   
"Whom do you know who will give me a job?" Serena  
asked all of sudden.  
Han brought himself out of his thoughts and looked at her.   
"Ever heard of Talon Karrde?"  
"Heard of him? I practically know everything about him.   
I can't believe it. I knew about the Smugglers Alliance, and  
your helping to bring it around, though by now it's probably  
worth nothing, but I didn't know that you knew him  
personally. I don't know, though I would have to be very  
good for him to hire me." Serena spoke dryly, but there  
was a hint of hope in her voice. Han could not shake the  
feeling, though, that the hopeful tone had been forced with  
great effort.  
"He'll hire you if he thinks your smart enough, quick  
enough, and tough enough."  
"Well, all I can say is that I hope I am everything he wants.   
So, are we going to Coruscant to find him?"  
"I'll have to contact him from Coruscant. We'll wait for  
him there. But before we do, I have to make a quick stop  
on Yavin Four."  
"Yavin Four?" Serena asked suspiciously.  
"Yeah, my wife is there, she wanted me to stop by for a  
day or so."  
"But, your wife is Chief of State, what is she doing at the  
Jedi Academy -- that is the Jedi Academy, right?"  
"It is. She's taking a break -- a very short break of course--  
maybe three days. I'm not sure. Anyway kid . . . Serena, I  
have no idea how she was able to take off. I'm not that great  
in politics and stuff like that."  
There was a brief silence, and then, "So," Serena spoke  
casually, " do you want to know anything about me? Or do  
you always go around picking up girls and taking them to  
Coruscant no matter who or what they are?"  
Han looked at Serena half-surprised. "I'm ignoring your  
last comment, but some background information would be  
nice."  
Serena smirked. "Ever since my parents died when I was .  
. .fourteen . . .I'm eighteen now and I've pretty much been  
on my own. I've done odd jobs here and there, and this is  
my first time to leave Tatooine."  
Han watched as Serena looked over to her right at a  
window. She looked out of it as if she were watching  
something bad. Of course, all that was out there were the  
darkened streets filled with blowing sand. Maybe she sensed  
something bad, but whatever it was, he was not concerned.  
Han watched her until she shook her head as if trying to  
erase a bad dream for good.  
Serena started speaking again. "Well, I've been earning and  
stealing money so I could leave Tatooine. I wanted to start  
my own life. I had about two more years to wait till I had  
enough money, but I guess not anymore."  
Han was silent for a long time. He was too busy trying to  
figure out which parts of the girl's short story were true and  
which parts were not. Han studied Serena's face for a  
moment. She was really pretty, but what bothered him was  
that she never let anything show on her face. True, he had  
seen her smirk and frown, but that was about it. What was  
wrong with this girl? Was she made of stone, did she have  
no feelings at all?   
It was as if she wore a mask of nothingness. Except for her  
eyes. They seemed to make her look as if she were  
dreaming, and they also made her look young and innocent,  
nothing close to her real self by the way she talked, Han  
figured.  
Serena watched Han's eyes trail across the dimly lit room.   
His eyes passed over the other empty tables in the room and  
surveyed the last table at the opposite end of the room  
where the four female Gotals sat; their language was  
unrecognizable.  
"Well," Serena broke the strained silence, "that's all of my  
life. It's certainly not as adventured filled as your's." Serena  
hated to lie to Han Solo, she liked the older man.  
"No, it's not. I just thought that there would be more to it  
than that." 'Like how you became so good at flying,  
shooting, and using vibroblades. If you even are any good,  
that's not something you're born with, you have to learn it  
from somewhere.'  
"I guess the only interesting thing that ever happened to  
me was . . . there was this girl. I'd say she was Handerin,  
'cause of those big blue eyes. She was also beautiful, which  
pretty much gave it away. I would have to say that she was  
either my age or younger. Anyway, we always seemed to  
run into each other at odd times on Tatooine. I wish that we  
could have gotten to know each other, but I haven't seen  
her for at least three months. "But, the last time I saw  
her, she did the strangest thing. I was about to get my head  
blown off by some kind of alien because I had tried to steal  
some money from him. That Handerin girl appeared and all  
of a sudden pulled the blaster out of his hands. It must have  
been some kind of mental power because she wasn't even  
near him. She lost control of it, and the alien got it back; but  
I was long gone by the time he turned around."  
"Sounds like the Force." Han mumbled.  
"Really?" she asked unemotionally.  
Han shrugged. "I don't know. Just guessing."   
Serena picked up her untouched drink and sipped at it. She  
quickly put it back down on the table. "What is that?" she  
asked, with only a hint of revulsion edging its way into her  
voice.  
"Whiskey." Han smiled to himself. Something was  
bothering him: what would Luke and Leia think of his  
bringing a girl, no a teenager, with him from Tatooine?  
Most importantly, what would he say when asked how they  
had met? 'Oh, she was trying to get into my ship to steal  
some things when I accidentally shot her. Now we're real  
good friends.'  
Han shook his head. Too late to fix anything; he should  
have thought about all of this earlier. Though, if he had,  
would the girl still be sitting here in front of him? 'Yes, she  
would, because I'm a very stupid man.' Han smiled again.  
"So, you have kids, right?" Serena asked Han as she eyed  
her drink with disgust.  
"Yeah, three. Twins, a girl and boy, and their younger  
brother." He smiled, remembering their small pudgy faces.  
Serena took her gaze off her drink and looked up at Han.   
She tried to smile, but her face froze and the half smile fell  
away. "Wow, it must be great to have kids."  
"Yeah, it is."   
Serena said nothing in return. Han looked out the window  
that had attracted Serena's attention only moments before.   
All he was able to see was the dark alleyway and swirling  
sand. Even if there had not been a sandstorm, it would still  
be dark. Few stars were ever out, but that was what most  
Tatooine nights consisted of, little amounts of light, even in  
populated cities like Mos Eisley. Han had wanted Leia to  
come with him to Tatooine, but she had gone to Yavin Four  
instead. Han did not blame her, though. She seldom saw  
Luke since he had started the Academy. It was a shame she  
had not been able to meet Serena right away, she would  
have at least understood things better.  
With their three children and all of Leia's new duties, Han  
was surprised that they were even able to see each other  
during the day. Yet, through it all Han loved Leia more  
than anything, and nothing in the past had been able to tear  
them apart: from Imperials, to other men, to war. And, Han  
knew that nothing in the future, especially Leia's duties,  
could separate them either.  
"So, Serena, ready to go--"  
"Shhh!" whispered Serena through clenched teeth.   
"What?" asked Han surprised, and worried. It was safe to  
say that he now had a bad feeling about the situation.   
Serena's face began to pale. "It's that feeling I get when  
something's about to go   
wro-"   
At that point Han heard glass shattering and falling to the  
ground. In that same moment blaster shots flew past Han  
and Serena, barely missing Han's arm. Instead, it hit one of  
the female Gotals in the head, killing her immediately. Han  
and Serena dropped down behind their chairs, Han turned  
the table on its side using it as a shield against the blaster  
bolts and sand that were flying in through the window.   
Han quickly pulled out his blaster and set it for kill. He  
began to shoot through the smoke. He heard a loud cry,  
and figured that he had killed one of the unknown intruders.   
Han's blood turned cold. The cry sounded like it had come  
from a stormtrooper. Why would stormtroopers be after  
them? Was Serena just a spy? If so, why did she practically  
warn him of their presence? It had to be stormtroopers;  
there was no one else that would be stupid enough or brave  
enough to attack two people during a sandstorm from the  
outside.  
"It's him, I know it. I told him that I would pay him back."  
Serena whispered to herself. 'I should not have even asked  
to borrow the money in the first place. Now Sapht is gonna  
kill me because I haven't paid him back.'  
Serena grabbed for her blaster. She pulled it out of the  
holster strapped to her thigh. She got on her knees and put  
her blaster over the table. She then joined in the firefight  
between Han and the mysterious stalkers that were trying to  
kill them.  
Han edged closer to the end of the table to give Serena  
more protection. Every now and then he would either reach  
over the table or to the side of the table and shoot to where  
he mentally placed the window. He had not killed many  
stormtroopers, and Serena had killed even fewer, but she  
was keeping cool and controlled. That was good.  
Serena reached her hand over the table and pulled the  
trigger twice. No scream of pain came out from anyone,  
her shots had been wasted on the walls. She and Han had  
no fair chance, anyway. The window was only five feet  
high and four feet wide. Any male man would have a hard  
time getting through there unless he ducked down. Of  
course, two of them could be at the window on their knees  
shooting. Serena aimed the blaster at a lower point and  
pulled the trigger twice again. That time she heard a scream  
of pain. She had been right, they were not standing, they  
were on their knees at the bottom of the window.   
Serena glanced over to look at Han, but instead her eyes  
caught the sight of a black mark forming on their side of the  
wooden table. Serena nudged Han with the muzzle of her  
blaster, making sure her finger was off the trigger. He  
looked at her, and she pointed with the blaster to the black  
mark that was beginning to grow in size.  
Over the constant blaster fire, Serena heard Han swear.   
He turned to her and yelled, "They're shooting at that one  
part on the table to burn a hole through it. Don't ask me  
why, but I'm sure they have a good reason for it!"  
The black mark grew bigger, and a hole began to form.   
Serena took her eyes off the growing hole, and began to  
shoot over the table again. With her left hand, Serena  
grabbed one of the edges on the table to keep her balance.   
She heard Han yell "no!", but it was too late. The table  
broke apart through the center, sending Serena tumbling  
over to the right, and Han to the left. Serena rolled over to  
the wall against one of the columns. Red blaster fire  
surrounded her body. Serena quickly pulled up the half of  
the table that had broken off and used it as a shield. When  
she saw a black hole beginning to form on the wood Serena  
swore. Letting go of her half of the wooden table she  
scrambled as fast as she could behind the large square  
column that connected the ceiling and floor. Serena pressed  
her back hard against the stone column. She kicked the half  
of the wooden table away from her. Carefully looking to  
her side she saw Han Solo behind another column on the  
other side of the room.   
Serena copied Han's posture and stood up. Every few  
seconds she would throw her arm over the side of the  
column and shoot into the thick smoke that was beginning  
to fill the room, creating a smell of ozone. She heard no  
screams of pain, which meant she was not shooting anyone.   
Han was not either, and that only heightened the  
unpleasantness of the situation.  
Suddenly the shooting seized to exist. An eerie silence  
filed the room. Slowly easing her way out from behind the  
column, Serena finally spoke, "Han, I really don't think that  
we killed whoever was trying to get to us."   
"I don't think we did either," he said, "I think though,  
whoever it was is gone for now." He purposefully withheld  
his thoughts of thinking that the intruders were  
stormtroopers.   
"Where is your friend, Chewbacca? Don't you think if he  
heard this he would have come in?" Serena asked.  
Han looked around slowly and stood up. The sandstorm  
was over. He moved cautiously next to Serena putting his  
blaster back in his belt. Two of the Gotals were dead; the  
other two were huddled in the corner whimpering softly.   
He turned around to face where the shooting had come  
from. He had been right, it had come through the window.   
The glass was covering the floor along with a pile of sand,  
and there were a few scorch marks around the window  
frame.  
The sand had stopped blowing into the room, and the  
smoke was leaving through the open window.   
"I guess he is still in the main room," Han said speaking of  
Chewbacca.  
"Why didn't anyone come in here when they heard the  
blaster shots?"  
"I don't know. Maybe they couldn't get in."   
Han tried to open the door, but it was jammed. He tugged  
on the door with all his strength, and it finally opened. "I  
can't believe it," Han growled through clenched teeth, "no  
one even knows what just happened."  
Serena frowned as she walked out into the cantina. Her  
mouth dropped open,  
"Sithspawn! How?" she whispered. Han shrugged.   
Now Serena understood what he had meant. Chewbacca  
was at the bar talking to another Wookie, and everyone else  
was doing whatever they had been doing: playing cards,  
talking, or drinking.  
"I think, " said Serena, "that we had better go and not say  
anything about what just happened. It would just bring  
attention to us."  
"You're right, lets get Chewie and leave Tatooine tonight."  
Han caught Chewbacca's attention, and they left the Star  
Sung Cantina quickly.  
Serena hurried up to Han so she could walk by him. She  
said nothing, and neither did he. The three of them walked  
silently until they reached Serena's ship. Han looked at it  
carefully. It was shaped like the _Millennium Falcon_, but  
at the top, in the center, was a clear circle of glass. There  
were gun turrets at the bottom and top of the ship. It was  
very sleek and was as large as the _Millennium Falcon_.   
Han could easily tell that it had cost a lot of money.   
"Nice ship," he said.  
"Thanks. My father bought it for me."  
"Just wait for me and Chewie up in space, and we'll send  
you the coordinates to Yavin Four."  
The twin suns were just beginning to rise over Tatooine,  
filling the once darkened sky with splotches of pink and  
purple colors. Serena looked at the sunrise, surprised that  
so much time had passed, and then slowly nodded her head.  
"See you there, Solo." Serena walked into her ship without  
looking back. Sitting in the pilot's seat, she started up the  
repulsor lifts of the _Corellian Sunrise_. The ship lifted up  
and left Tatooine, and Serena hoped with all her soul that  
she would never have to return.  
  
On the way back to the _Millennium Falcon_, Han tried  
to figure out why for any reason someone would attack him  
and Serena, especially stormtroopers. And then, what about  
this girl, Serena? Who was she, and why did she want to be  
a smuggler? And, furthermore, how did she know that  
something was wrong right before the stormtroopers  
attacked them? So many questions and no answers.  
Han thought back, she had said something about a feeling.   
He might be jumping to conclusions, but it sounded like the  
Force; maybe Serena was a candidate for Luke's Academy.   
Luke had told him that he was trying to find more Force  
sensitive people. Back in the old days there had been  
hundreds, if not thousands of Jedi Knights throughout the  
galaxy. Luke only had a little over a dozen right now. One  
of those was Kyp Durron. The young man had trained at  
Luke's Academy, turned to the dark side, and turned back.   
Now he would be one of the first Jedi Knights of the New  
Republic. There were two others that would soon become  
Jedi Knights, also. Those other two were Cilghal, the Mon  
Calamarian, and Dorsk 81 the eighty-first clone of his kind.   
Han did not know those two very well, but he knew Kyp so  
well that sometimes he even thought of the boy as his son.   
Of course, Kyp could never compare to Han's real sons.  
Han had saved young Kyp Durron from the spice mines  
of Kessel. He and Kyp had grown very close, depending  
upon one another for their own lives.   
Kyp had been strong in the Force, even dangerously  
strong. Once he had practically given himself over to the  
dark side. The spirit of a long dead Dark Jedi named Exar  
Kun had tricked Kyp into thinking he could learn more in  
the Force without turning to the dark side. But, from what  
Luke had told Han, despite Exar Kun's bidding, Kyp had  
not been able to succumb to the order to kill Han. Their  
bond had been too strong for Kun to break.   
After passing a test that even Luke had failed, Luke had  
given Kyp another chance. Han was glad for the boy, since  
he had been given that second chance to prove himself, Kyp  
would now be one of the first Jedi Knights of the New  
Republic. He would also be one of the strongest Jedi  
Knights of the New Republic, that, everyone was sure of.  
Han smiled to himself. He had missed and had wanted to  
see Kyp for some time. It would be great to see the kid  
again.  
Han's thoughts wandered back to Serena. Maybe she did  
not even have the Force. Perhaps she worked for the  
Empire. If she did, and she got information, then it would  
be his entire fault. The New Republic could fall because of  
him. Then again, maybe she _was_ telling the truth. Maybe  
she was just an average girl with a little talent. But, why  
was he doing this for her? Luke would have told him that it  
was the Force leading him to these decisions. But maybe it  
was just plain stupidity. He just had this feeling he could  
trust the girl; he did not know why. Maybe he could even  
grow to like the kid, who knew?  
Right now, though, his main problem was determining  
who in the galaxy wanted him dead. He doubted that  
Serena had anything to do with this. So who was it?   
Could the shadowed figures at the cantina have just been  
after Serena? If so, then why?   
Chewbacca growled.   
"No, nothing's wrong, I'm just thinking. So much for our  
vacation. It just wasn't meant to be." Han said, letting all  
the unanswerable questions fall out of his mind. "We'll  
never get a rest, Chewie. Have you ever realized that?"  
Chewbacca grunted twice in agreement.  
  
  
* *  
  
Luke walked through the jungles of Yavin Four. He was  
glad to be alone. Now he could finally think clearly.   
Starting the Jedi Academy had been hard enough, and then  
the arduous search for the candidates. But Luke was  
worried that he could not teach the students right. He did  
not want another Darth Vader, or Emperor. Having Kyp  
fall to the dark side was bad enough. At least he had turned  
back to the light side. Now, Luke knew he would be a very  
powerful Jedi.  
Nevertheless, he had been told that his students were  
doing fine. At least Leia had told him that the last time they  
had talked. Luke let out a small sigh. He only had a  
handful of students. He would need a lot more . . . But, he  
should not worry about this sort of thing; he should look on  
the bright side of everything, now and then. Like, three of  
his students were going to become Jedi Knights soon. He  
was very proud of them, and a little bit proud of himself.  
Knowing that teaching these students to become Jedi  
Knights was bringing them closer to a united galaxy helped  
him to sleep peacefully at night.  
Luke could hear running water in the distance. He looked  
up at the sky of Yavin Four. Soon the sun would be setting,  
and his trainees would be coming back from there  
meditations. Beads of sweat glistened on Luke's forehead,  
but he ignored the heat and the humid air. He brushed back  
some vines and came to a wide river.  
Luke sat down by the riverside and stared at the flowing  
current of water. It was never ending; it flowed and flowed.   
It might never stop. He looked around himself. Thousand  
year old trees grew meters and meters up. Maybe he could  
point this out to his students.   
Everything kept going, once the tree died, it continuously  
disintegrated, until it stopped, and was part of the soil.   
Then the soil would keep piling, up, and up, never stopping.   
The water would keep going and going. Even if something  
blocked the river, it could find a new route to flow.   
Everything kept going and going, but one day, maybe  
millions of years from now, everything would stop.  
_Everything but the Force_.  
Luke closed his eyes and let the last rays of the sun touch  
his face. Then suddenly it was night again on Yavin Four.   
The animals were rising from their dens, hungry. He could  
faintly feel the animals' eagerness in finding food. It was  
also growing colder, like all the nights on Yavin.  
Luke stood up, ignoring the shivers from the cold wind  
that blew off the river and past him. The trainees by now  
were finishing their meditations and heading towards the  
Great Temple. Luke looked up at the night sky; a ship was  
coming in.  
He hurried back to the temple. The students had  
surrounded the small ship. Luke recognized it immediately.   
It was the _Alderaan_, Leia's personal ship. The ramp  
descended, and Leia stepped out. Luke smiled and  
happiness flooded over him like water. He had wanted to  
see Leia. It had been a long time since he had last seen her,  
and he had missed her. Luke walked to her quickly and  
hugged his sister.  
"Leia! Its great to see you here, but what brings you  
here?"  
"Well, I decided that I needed a break. Ackbar said he  
would cover for me, but only for five days," she smiled  
weakly. "But even five days is good enough for me."  
Luke and Leia headed into the Great Temple. "That  
means you'll only be able to stay here for three days. I see.   
Well. Three days is fine. I'm glad that you at least were  
able to come here. Where's Han?"  
"He went on a break, too. He left for Tatooine when I left  
for here. I'm expecting to get a message from him soon. I  
told him that I would be here, so maybe if he leaves  
Tatooine, he can come here, but he would have to leave  
today." She sighed. Too many thoughts and worries were  
crowded into her head, and she needed a few days of rest.   
This would be the perfect place as long as nothing dire  
happened while she was gone from Coruscant.  
"I have been thinking of coming to Coruscant, but since  
new students are coming in tomorrow, I need to stay here."  
Leia and Luke entered into the mess hall of the temple. He  
and Leia sat at a long wooden table. In front of them were  
small bowls of watery stew cooked by a few of the younger  
trainees. Luke saw that all of his students were there except  
for Kyp and Dorsk 81. Right then Tionne passed him. He  
stopped her, and asked her if she knew where Kyp and  
Dorsk were.  
"I think they went exploring a little. They should be here  
soon, Master Skywalker." She said as she smiled at him and  
Leia.   
She was one of Luke's less powerful students, but she was  
as dedicated as any one of the others in learning about the  
Force. Sometimes, though, it was hard to talk to her. Using  
the Force, the others could explain things to each other by  
feelings, or visions and thoughts. Tionne wasn't powerful  
enough for this, but she was useful. In times of need, she  
could take control of the Academy if Kyp were not there.   
Whenever Luke would leave for Coruscant, or somewhere  
else, he usually put Kyp in charge of the Academy. If Kyp  
were not able, Tionne was capable of easily taking  
responsibility. She was a brilliant person, and she knew  
almost everything there was to know about the past of the  
Jedi Knights and Old Republic.  
Tionne shook her head to get a strand of silver hair out of  
her ivory face. "They might just be meditating Master  
Skywalker." She blinked her exotic looking, pearly white  
eyes. She smiled at him, and went to sit by Streen, and  
Kirana Ti.  
Streen was a hermit whom Luke had found in the deserted  
city of Tibannopolis on Bespin. He was a quiet man, and  
mostly stayed away from other people. Kirana Ti was a  
Force-sensitive witch from Dathomir who had helped Luke  
salvage a wrecked ship which had held records of Jedi  
training used in the olden days. She had later agreed to join  
him at the Academy.  
Luke was at least glad that Kyp was with Dorsk. Dorsk 81  
was a humanoid clone from the planet Khomm. Knowing  
that he was different from his society, as soon as he had  
heard about Luke's praxeum, Dorsk had left Khomm to  
train on Yavin Four.   
Kyp and Dorsk had become very close ever since Kyp had  
turned back to the light side. It was strange because Dorsk  
was really the only student here to whom Kyp really gave  
attention. Though sometimes when Mara Jade would visit  
the Academy, Kyp would sit near her, and she would tell  
him about some of her 'adventures.' Mara Jade was one of  
the very first to forgive Kyp for stealing her ship. She at  
least had gotten it back. She really did not mind his  
company, and she came very close to enjoying her  
conversations with the younger man.  
Leia on the other hand had forgiven Kyp but was never  
really close to him; she pretty much stayed out of his way.   
Wedge and Qwi Xux had also forgiven him. Qwi had even  
said that she was glad that he had erased her memories.   
From what she had heard, she did not want to remember  
anything.  
Luke ate some of the soup; it was at least better than what  
they had eaten that morning. The students tried their best to  
help out with the Academy, but one thing was clear: they  
had no idea how to cook.   
Luke smiled happily. It was nice enough to have a  
peaceful night where he could sit down an eat dinner with  
his beloved sister. There weren't many nights where he  
could sit down by his sister and eat leisurely and peacefully  
with his students. Ever since Admiral Daala's attacks,  
nothing had really happened out of the ordinary. For that  
Luke was glad, and he hoped that things had for now  
calmed down.   
  
* * *  
  
Kayro Inin strode across his office and turned back again.   
What was he supposed to do? Daala was gone, though he  
had known she would not last for long. That was why the  
Emperor had never hired women, Kayro wondered how this  
woman had become an Admiral. The reason she hadn't  
lasted was obvious; if the great Thrawn could not have  
beaten the New Republic, how could a woman?  
Grand Admiral Thrawn had been a genius . . . military  
genius. If he hadn't been in the Outer Rims during the  
Rebellion, the New Republic might have never formed --  
never had the time, they would have been completely wiped  
out by Thrawn. But, the grand admiral hadn't been there,  
and the Empire had fallen.  
Kayro strode across his office again and turned around for  
the fifty-first time. As he had been thinking of what to do,  
he had also silently been counting how man times he crossed  
and re-crossed his large, circular office.   
He needed more forces. All he had were five Imperial  
Class Star Destroyers, one of them, the _Evening Death_,  
was his own personal ship.   
Fifty-two times.  
He hadn't started out in the beginning with five Star  
Destroyers, of course. During the past few years he had  
fought enough men who thought they were good enough to  
be in charge of a Star Destroyer. Though, as soon as they  
were put up against Kayro, they found that they weren't.   
He wasn't the kind of man to flaunt what power he had.   
Fifty-three times.   
Two of his Star Destroyers were hidden, the other three  
were located around different parts of the galaxy. He  
needed more power, but right now, it looked like he would  
have to attack the New Republic with what he had. Of  
course, what was hidden would stay hidden. Fifty-four  
times.  
Who knew, one day he might loose all three of the ships he  
was using now, he might just need those other Star  
Destroyers. It was better to be safe than without a ship.  
When Kayro turned around again a young man in a  
stormtroopers uniform with no helmet stepped in. Kayro  
preferred his stormtroopers not to use their helmets. He  
enjoyed looking into their eyes and seeing the fear that  
needed to be there: the fear that should fill every  
stormtroopers eye. It was the fear of knowing that he,  
Kayro, at any moment could snap his fingers and kill them.   
"Admiral?" The young man gave him a rigid salute.  
"Yes?" He asked tiredly. It had been a long day, full of  
nothing but pacing back and forth. He was ready for some  
good or even bad news.  
"Captain Stenner would like to have a word with you." He  
fidgeted nervously; he was uncomfortable with his helmet  
off. He looked around in Kayro's bare room, which was  
dimly lit. He looked back to face the brown haired, green  
eyed, handsome man.  
"Send him in." Kayro waved his hand in the air.  
"Yes sir." The stormtrooper saluted and quickly walked  
out, lest Kayro's anger -- Kayro always had a streak of  
anger in him that was as dangerous as fire -- get the best of  
him and he decided that some unlucky stormtrooper needed  
punishment.  
Kayro sat in his chair. Captain Darien Stenner was very  
loyal and smart. Those were the only things that Kayro  
found every man needed. Ruthlessness and skillfulness were  
important, too. Those attributes were in Stenner; they just  
weren't as obvious.   
Stenner walked into the room. He was tall, young, and  
handsome. He had onyx black hair and eyes. He always  
dressed in black. He dressed plainly except for his black  
cape, and effulgent black boots. He was a cold, uncaring  
man letting little emotions show through his facial  
expressions and voice.  
"Captain." Kayro acknowledged him.  
"Yes, Admiral. I have a plan for an attack against the New  
Republic." He strode in confidently. Kayro liked confident  
men. They were mostly easier to talk to and reason with  
than unconfident men. Yet, if someone like Darien became  
too confident, then he could become dangerous. One day,  
Kayro would have to rid himself of Darien, just not now.   
He was too important to him alive. "I also have a plan."  
He answered back, annoyed that this boy would even think  
of telling him what to do. His cold green eyes narrowed  
into black slits. He stood up, and walked across the room to  
stand by Darien. The man was young, true, but he was  
cruel and calculating. Two more things to go with his  
emotionless character.  
"You see Captain, it is very simple . . ."  
  
* * *  
  
"For now, Captain we will stop our attacks on Warlord  
Yinark, and concentrate fully on my plans. We will launch  
in four days."  
Warlord Yinark was an old man who was tall and thin.   
Very bony; very annoying. Yinark, for the past year, had  
been trying with all his might and one Star Destroyer to take  
control of Kayro's convoy. First he had started arguing that  
he was of higher status and therefore Kayro should  
immediately hand over his men and ships. Kayro had  
bluntly refused, and so as to emphasize his contempt, he had  
completely obliterated one of Yinark's destroyer's, leaving  
the old man with one beaten up Destroyer. Next, Yinark  
had begun to attack the _Soul of Fire_, one of Kayro's  
newly fought for and won Star Destroyers. The ship was  
supposed to have been hidden, but Lieutenant Hadrine  
hadn't done that well enough, for Yinark had attacked.   
Yinark hadn't hurt the beautiful ship, no, but he had  
destroyed its shield powers, leaving it defenseless and prone  
to attack and destruction from New Republic ships.   
Kayro had immediately put Hadrine to death, and had then  
used Lieutenant Killeryer to find a new hiding place for the  
_Soul of Fire_. Killeryer had been successful, and the men  
aboard the Star Destroyer had been able to repair its shields.   
Now it was in perfect condition and perfect hiding.  
They, for the past month, had been attacking Yinark's  
Destroyer on and off. Now, they would stop. The old man  
was worthless anyway, and his struggle to survive was  
futile.  
"Perfect sir," he saluted, "I will tell the crew of the  
_Evening Death_ to get ready."  
"Yes, and you should be getting ready also. You are going  
to be in charge of the operation, and that means in charge of  
the _Evening Death_."  
Darien Stenner apathetically nodded his head. "Thank  
you, sir." The seventeen-year old replied.  
Darien Stenner may have been young, but he was one of  
Kayro's best men. Soon he would be more than a captain,  
but for now that was all he could be. The young man was  
skilled, smart, quick to move to action, and good at lying.   
He was just what Kayro wanted in a man. He never even  
thought of Stenner as being his son. They had never been  
close and it would stay that way. Their relationship was  
completely business.  
Kayro sat back at his desk. He had to think carefully of  
the places to attack. What would be the best place? It had  
to be a planet that was important to the New Republic, and  
where a lot of people lived. Human or non-human, it did  
not quite matter to Kayro. The first place that came to his  
mind was Koretin. 'Koretin', Kayro thought, 'is the perfect  
place. The Mon Calamarians at the Academy will be so  
upset.'  
  
* * *  
Serena sat, floating in space, waiting for Han Solo. 'This  
is almost unfathomable,' she thought to herself; 'I have a  
chance to work for one of the most powerful smugglers in  
the galaxy.'   
Serena stood up and walked to the small bathroom in the  
_Corellian Sunrise_. She looked at herself in the mirror.   
She had dark circles under her eyes, and her hair needed  
brushing. Serena ran her hands through her thick hair and it  
helped more than she thought it would. The shorter strands  
of hair that surrounded her face fell into her eyes, but as  
usual she ignored them. Serena had no bangs, her hair  
parted in the center of her head. The hair that surrounded  
the sides of her face were not long, they reached to her  
mouth and became longer as they flowed to her back. The  
hair over her shoulders was only a few centimeters from  
hitting her shoulders, and the hair in the very back of her  
head reached a few inches past her shoulders. Her hair was  
hard to braid, and the shorter strands that surrounded her  
face always eased out, softening her appearance.   
Serena bent down and splashed some cold water on her  
face. She rubbed it dry and then looked into the mirror  
again. At least her hair looked better.  
Serena walked back to the pilot's seat to look for the  
_Millennium Falcon_. She was getting really bored. She  
had only been waiting for one hour, but floating in space,  
alone, was not that fun, even after a few minutes. She had  
been trying her best to keep her mind off of what was taking  
Han Solo so long. If she thought about it too hard, she  
might figure out that he wasn't going to come.  
Serena looked out of the window and stared at the large  
brown planet looming ahead of her. She wondered why  
Han Solo had offered her help so quickly. Did he even feel  
sorry for shooting her? And why would Talon Karrde even  
think of looking at her, let alone hiring her? This was  
unfathomable.   
Serena saw a ship leave Tatooine's atmosphere, but  
judging by the size and shape of the ship she could easily tell  
that it was not Solo's. Serena thought about leaving, but  
she had no food, no money, and no one. This was her only  
chance, and she wasn't going to let it slip through her  
fingers. She was going to take a chance, even if she did not  
get a job. Han Solo could not just leave her, she was only  
eighteen.   
A yellow light started blinking on, and off, it was her  
comm light. Serena punched the button. It was Han Solo;  
he was on his way off Tatooine. 'Finally, I was beginning  
to doubt that he would ever come,' Serena thought as she  
started up the engine thrusters.  
Serena started to move her ship forward, and as she did,  
she saw the form of the _Millennium Falcon_ drawing ever  
so closer to her. Her comm went off, she clicked it on, and  
heard Han's voice on the other end.  
"Miss me?" He asked her.  
"Tons," There was a pause after Serena's sarcastic remark,  
"so you're gonna give me the coordinates or what?"  
"I'm sending them over to you right now."  
"Thanks so very much." Serena said, trying to keep the  
sarcasm out of her voice, but as usual it did not work.  
In a few minutes the coordinates to Yavin Four scrolled  
up onto her screen. "Got them, Solo. I'm ready and  
waiting," Serena spoke into her comm unit, as she tapped  
the keys.   
Han's voice came clearly over the comm. "Well then, let's  
go."   
Serena turned off her comm and pushed the hyperdrive  
lever forward. She watched as the stars around her blurred  
into a tunnel of blue light.  
  
  
  
The trainees started to go to bed one, by one. Leia had  
gone to bed a while back, and Artoo had shut off to re-  
power. Soon, he would be alone. Soon, everyone would  
be asleep, everyone but Kyp, Dorsk, and himself.  
Luke had to wait for Kyp and Dorsk; he needed to talk to  
them about the student that each of them would have to  
teach. The new students were coming in tomorrow, and  
Luke needed to prepare Kyp and Dorsk.  
Of course, if they needed any help, he would help them, a  
little. He had already explained everything to Cilghal, and  
she did not even seemed surprised by it. He knew though  
that tomorrow would be a big step for the three. Luke  
believed that they would be able to handle the  
responsibilities, they were old enough and ready for it.   
Suddenly, Luke found himself alone in the main room of  
the temple. The room that he, Han, and Chewbacca had  
walked through to receive their medals a few years ago.   
The room in which Luke had finally come to realize that his  
life would never be the same. That had been a long time  
ago. Look at him now, Han was his brother-in-law, Leia  
was now Chief of State and he -- he was a Jedi Master. He  
was now teaching young boys and girls how to become  
great Jedi, Luke Skywalker: the young farm boy from  
Tatooine.   
Things had really changed since that day when he had  
walked down the hall, excited, young, and inexperienced,  
the day that all the Rebels had celebrated their first victory  
over the Empire. And for that one reason Luke was  
teaching these trainees, so there would never have to be  
another rebellion against the Empire or the New Republic.   
Luke began to wonder where in the stars Kyp and Dorsk  
were. He knew that they were all right, but still he could  
not help but worry. Yet, if they were in trouble, he would  
feel it, he knew they were all right; but wasn't it his job to  
worry about his students? After all, most of them weren't  
even adults yet, including Kyp and Dorsk.  
Luke began to feel the presence of Kyp and Dorsk drawing  
closer to the temple. A small amount of relief passed over  
him. Luke stood up. "I hope they like teaching," he  
murmured to himself as Kyp and Dorsk entered the room.  
They both looked tired and worn out. _That_ was good,  
maybe they would not be as worried about teaching. They  
might be too tired to care.  
Kyp noticed Luke first. "We're sorry Master Skywalker  
for staying out so late. We were meditating and lost track  
of time," the young, handsome man explained before Luke  
could say anything.   
Luke smiled at each of the boys. "It's all right Kyp." Luke  
patted the eighteen-year-old on the shoulder.  
"Master Skywalker, what are you doing still up?" asked  
the green skinned alien on Kyp's right. He was noticeably  
taller than Kyp, even though Kyp was slightly taller than  
Luke.  
"Well, I needed to tell you each something. The two of  
you and Cilghal have one more task to complete before  
your training will ends, and I will be able to call you true  
Jedi Knights."  
Kyp raised his midnight blue colored eyes questionably and  
shook his dark brown hair out of his face. Luke noticed  
that his hair was almost a black, 'no time to think about hair  
colors, Luke.' He told himself silently.  
Luke could feel Kyp's excitement, and Dorsk's weariness.  
That was what he had expected. Kyp was always eager to  
do anything that would help him become stronger in the  
Force. Of course, ever since his encounter with Exar Kun  
he had been wary of some of the tasks that Luke had given  
him. Dorsk was not as sure as Kyp was about the powers  
that he possessed. But, being with Kyp, his esteem was  
slowly rising.  
"This task that you will have to complete will not be  
simple. Though I do hope that you will enjoy it. You are  
going to, each by yourself, and with as little help as  
possible, teach your on student. I am hoping that this will  
help you train in your patience and your ability to take care  
of someone, for as a Jedi Knight you will be not only  
guardians of freedom and justice, but guardians of others  
and their lives. I want you to become their friend, not just  
their teacher. Become their mentor, share things with them.   
I am going to assign to each of you a girl. I think it will be  
easier for you to deal with a girl rather than having to feel  
tested against a boy. Do you have any questions?" Luke  
looked at Kyp, then at Dorsk.  
"Yeah. I do." Kyp said.   
"And that is?" Luke asked, slightly raising his eyebrows.  
"If I'm not a Jedi Knight yet, how can I possibly teach  
someone to become a Jedi Knight?"  
Luke let a smile pass across his lips. "Simple. You will  
teach the girl as much as you know and then I will finish her  
training."  
"Are you sure we can do this? The risk would be great."  
Dorsk 81 spoke.  
"Not as great as you like to think, Dorsk. I'm sure you  
two and Cilghal have had enough training and encounters  
with the dark side to know how to keep your student from  
falling. If you have any worries you can always come to  
me. Hopefully until you have taught them all you know, I  
won't need to step in."  
"Doesn't sound hard, I think it will be fun." Kyp offered.   
"When do we start?"  
"Tomorrow, as soon as the new students arrive."  
"Tomorrow?" Asked Dorsk, sounding a little bit fretful.  
Kyp looked at his friend. "Don't worry Dorsk, it will be  
fine, you'll see."  
"I hope so." Spoke the tall, smooth skinned alien.   
Luke smiled, "Just remember, I had to teach you all, and I  
did fine."  
Kyp nodded his head in understanding. "I'm sure we will.   
I'm looking forward to it, I'm sure the experience will  
broaden my abilities."  
"It should." Luke agreed. "I know you will both have  
fun."  
  
* * *  
Kayro straightened up in his seat when a stormtrooper  
strode into his office, unaffected by the loss of his helmet.   
'He's probably new. They're all new, well trained, but  
young and not disciplined.'   
"Yes?" He asked with a little bit of tiredness to his voice.   
Most of these men, women even, had been forced out of  
their homes and taken to Carida to train. These  
stormtroopers were part of the small number that had either  
escaped, or not been on Carida when its sun had exploded.  
The stormtrooper saluted. "Admiral Inin, Grand Moff  
Sinnerly is here; he wants to talk to you, sir."  
"About what? Isn't he supposed to tell me he wants to talk  
three days in advance?" Kayro though to himself, 'he's as  
much a Grand Moff, as I am Princess Leia.'  
"I'm not sure. Sir. He knows sir, but he says that it is  
urgent, sir."  
"Fine, send him in." Kayro said with a hint of anger in his  
voice. "I wish it were urgent," he mumbled to himself, as he  
stood up.  
Kayro only had to wait a few minutes until Sinnerly  
entered the room, with around two dozen stormtroopers  
behind him. Sinnerly was short, but had long arms and wide  
shoulders that looked awkward and did not fit with the rest  
of him. He wasn't fat, but he was large from muscle. While  
short and large, he had a face that seemed better suited for  
someone thin. It was narrow, except for the doubled chin.   
He had a hawk nose; his top lip was too thin and his bottom  
lip too fat, and his brown eyes were set too far apart. His  
brown hair was nearly gone; he was practically bald, except  
for a few wisps of hair every now and then on his head. The  
man was outrageously ugly, but he did not seem to care.   
"Grand Moff Sinnerly, how interesting to see you here."   
'Show-off,' Kayro thought angrily to himself as he viewed  
all the stormtroopers behind the ugly man.  
"Ah, yes, Admiral Inin. What I need to tell you will only  
take a moment of your time. I am happy to finally be able  
to see the greatly renowned Kayro Inin. I've heard of you  
from so many --"  
"Don't even start, I don't want to listen to your useless  
flattery." Kayro motioned for Sinnerly to sit down. He  
accepted the invitation, and sat down in front of Kayro's  
desk.  
"Well, Sinnerly, I was told that your message was  
important." Kayro strode back to his desk, and sat down  
behind it.  
"Why, yes it is." Sinnerly leaned back. "I have found one  
of the Alliance's bases. In fact," he paused a moment for  
effect that effected no one but himself, " I know where three  
of them are located. And if you are interested, I could tell  
you where they are."  
"What's the price Sinnerly?" Kayro growled, not wanting  
to play the games that Sinnerly enjoyed so much.  
"We put our forces together. You become my second in  
command, and we attack the New Republic."  
"Oh, so you want all my ships, my men, and you want  
_me_ to become your second in command?" Kayro laughed  
bitterly.  
"Well, if you want to put it that bluntly, yes, that is what I  
want. It's a small price to pay for all the information you  
will get; and the revival of the Empire will be just a few  
victories ahead."  
Kayro stood up, and walked out from behind his desk and  
towards Sinnerly. He stood in front of him, and looked  
down at the pudgy man. He left the title of Grand Moff.  
"Sinnerly, I don't believe you know me very well. I  
wouldn't become your second in command, _ever_, and I  
would certainly never let you have my ships and men. I am  
more powerful than you will ever be, and don't even start to  
think that you are smarter or more suitable to control my  
men and ships than I am. The Empire is far from being  
revived. It might never come back, you should concentrate  
on the downfall of the New Republic, not the resurrection  
of the Empire."  
Sinnerly stood up, offended. His face was now a dark red  
-- that made him look very ugly -- and he kept opening then  
clenching his fists together as if he wanted to punch Kayro  
in the face. Too bad he could not reach that far. "Well, I  
am sorry that you are stupid enough not to accept my offer.   
You are too young to be worth anything. I wish I knew  
what the Emperor saw in you."  
Kayro smiled cruelly, and he laughed again. "I find that  
you are the one who is stupid." Kayro pointed towards the  
door in front of him and behind Sinnerly. "All your  
stormtroopers and weapons will not protect you when it is  
your time."  
"It will never be my 'time'." Sinnerly whispered bitterly.  
"One day I will have a blaster put up to your empty head  
and will blow it off your neck. You are stupid enough to  
think that your men will be able to save you. What powers  
I have, you will never have. What protection I have, you  
will never have."  
Without answering Sinnerly turned around, and stalked out  
of the room, followed quickly by his men. Kayro smiled  
smugly and walked back behind his desk. He knew that at  
any moment, after seeing Sinnerly leaving so soon, Darien  
Stenner would be in. He would be wanting to know how  
Kayro could have possibly let all that information slip  
through his fingers. Kayro sat down.  
Moment's later Stenner came into the room. "Sir, are you  
sure that letting all that information go was wise?" There  
was a hint of questioning to Darien's voice, which showed  
he was slightly worried.  
"Yes Captain. You see, I already know where those bases  
are, I have enough spies in every reach of the galaxy and  
enough inside Sinnerly's ships to know where every base is.   
Even if I did not, joining forces with someone like Sinnerly  
would be the end of the Empire surely."  
"Ah, yes I see. Once again, your cleverness astounds me  
sir. I was coming here Admiral to tell you that the  
_Evening Death_ is ready, and we are about to depart from  
the fleet.  
"Well Captain, enjoy yourself, but make no mistakes."   
Kayro said softly, dangerously.  
"Oh, don't worry sir, I won't make one mistake."  
Kayro leaned back in his chair. "I hope not, for your  
sake."  
Darien saluted insouciantly and walked out of the room.  
Kayro smirked. Him, second in command? If he wanted  
his forces joined with Sinnerly's, Sinnerly would have to be  
killed. The Emperor had made him an Admiral for a good  
many reasons, most of which he kept quiet about. Other  
Admirals had said he was of no importance to the Emperor,  
because at the time of his change in ranking, he had had  
only one Star Destroyer.  
Since the battle of Endor, Kayro had joined up with one  
Moff, and one Admiral, both   
having mysteriously died after joining their forces with his.   
Now, he was powerful. He could have taken care of  
Sinnerly, but his one Star Destroyer was of no use to Kayro.   
After meeting with Eon, he'd have plenty of ships to finish  
his plan.  
A stormtrooper strode into his office, his eyes, and hair  
was lightly colored, and his face showed no other feeling  
than fear. "Admiral." The stormtrooper saluted stiffly.  
"Yes?" Kayro asked, he was getting annoyed. He never  
seemed to be left alone to have time to think. He was  
always being bothered with some useless information that  
was of no importance, but one day he might be given some  
important information. He had a feeling that this  
information might just be interesting.  
"The report has come in, the mission was unsuccessful.   
The men were not able to kill Han Solo; there was a young  
girl with him too sir. No one recognized her, but she  
seemed to have warned Han Solo, so they were not able to  
get a clear shot."  
Kayro frowned slightly, then rolled his eyes. "Did they  
even _try_ to capture him?" He continued dryly, "make  
sure next time they try to capture him. He's worth more to  
me alive than dead."   
Han Solo, a brown haired, brown eyed, roguish man.   
He was married to the Chief of State. You have him, you  
have everything.  
He was brother-in-law to a Jedi Master. You have him,  
you know everything about the Jedi.   
He was friends with Talon Karrde. You have him, you  
know everything about Karrde that someone like Han Solo  
would know.  
He was a part of the New Republic. You have him, you  
know everything.  
"Well sir, we found out that he is heading to the Jedi  
Academy, aren't you sending the _Evening Death_ there?  
Sir?" The stormtrooper spoke boldly.  
"Yes, yes I am. Well then, I can forget getting him alive,  
but his dying is no worry on my part." But, it was. If Han  
Solo died, all that information would be lost, yet so much  
would be gained. How could the Chief of State be called  
stable if her husband was killed? She could not.  
"Yes sir."  
Kayro dismissed the stormtrooper and watched him  
calmly, but quickly, walk out of the room. Kayro thought  
apathetically, 'maybe now I will get some peace and quiet. I  
need to think of where to move my Star Destroyers.' Now  
that Sinnerly knew where Kayro and his fleet were located,  
and which Star Destroyer he was in, the _Vengeance_, it  
was too dangerous to wait around.   
Kayro leaned back in his chair as he heard a stormtrooper  
enter into his room. 'Forget the peace and quiet,' Kayro  
thought with a tinge of anger.  
The stormtrooper came up to his desk, and laid a data pad  
on his desk "Sir, this came in for you, it is a tape of what  
happened when your men found Han Solo."  
"Ah, yes, thank you."  
"Sir."  
Before the stormtrooper could walk out, Kayro started  
talking to him again. "And get me whoever was in charge  
of this operation. Also, tell Captain Tenerat to contact all  
other Star Destroyers, and tell them that we are making a  
jump to lightspeed in one hour. Tell him we are heading to .  
. . the Kanat system."  
"Sir." The stormtrooper saluted, seeming to remember  
that he had failed to do so upon entering. He quickly left  
Kayro's office.  
The Kanat system would be a good place to stay for a  
while. It was scarcely populated, and what planets did lie in  
the system were only used by rejects, prisoners, the sort.  
Kayro reached over, and grabbed the data pad, even  
though it was fairly large, it felt light as a small stone. He  
leaned back in his chair, and flicked the screen on.  
He immediately saw Solo, and a young girl, sitting at a  
wooden table in the center of a small, dimly lit room. The  
girl looked around slowly, looked at Han Solo, and said  
something to him. Right then the blaster bolts began to  
streak through the air. Solo and the girl turned the table  
over, and got behind it.   
The recorder went off.  
Kayro went back to the beginning of the tape and watched  
it carefully. He concentrated on the girl and frowned. She  
looked rather young, probably still a teenager. She was  
rather beautiful. Her hair was probably a light brown,  
though the light made it look gold and silver streaked, she  
had interestingly exotic, misty-green eyes. She looked  
familiar. The familiarity quickly flickered out. Kayro,  
passing off the issue at hand, thought that she was probably  
some girl that Solo had picked up off the streets. So much  
for the wonderful, faithful husband of the Chief of State.  
Kayro tried to think of where he had seen that face before.   
He could not place it, but it did not matter. The recorder  
went off for the second time. Just then, a tall, well-built  
man entered the room.  
"Yes sir?" Lieutenant Killeryer asked nervously, as he  
slowly walked to Kayro's desk.  
"Who is that girl in the tape?"  
Killeryer's posture slackened a little. "Sir, we don't know  
her identity, but we do know that she left on her own ship.   
Later on we found out that she had been given the  
coordinates to Yavin Four and will be arriving there with  
Solo."  
"How did you come up with this information?" Kayro  
asked.  
"We had a spy hiding in the docking bay where her ship  
was."  
"How did he know that was her ship?" Kayro shook his  
head. "Go on, Lieutenant, I am very interested in how you  
know all this."  
"It's where the girl has kept it all her life, sir."  
"Do you even know her name?"  
"Maldrin. When one of our spies saw her with Solo, he  
sent his partner to the docking bays where she kept her ship.   
Then, he overheard Solo saying he'd give her the  
coordinates to Yavin Four."  
"So if Han Solo is heading towards Yavin Four, so is the  
girl. Then, they'll both die.  
* *   
*  
The _Corellian Sunrise_ came out of hyperspace over the  
fourth moon of Yavin. Looking from within the forward  
viewport, out of the corner of her eyes Serena saw Han  
Solo's ship appear to her portside. Looking ahead of her,  
the young Corellian saw a green covered moon. Serena  
immediately started her thrusters up. She followed Han  
through the thin atmosphere of the moon. The flying was  
smooth and easy, with very few wind currents. Before she  
knew it, they had both landed, and Han was walking out of  
his ship.   
Serena quickly walked to the opening of the _Corellian  
Sunrise_, which was a door that slid down when opened,  
and extended the ramp out. She walked down it, and saw  
Han waiting for her.   
He spread his arms out. "Welcome to the Jedi Academy,"  
he said, as Serena closed her ship up. When she turned  
around Han stared at Serena, wide-eyed for a moment and  
then burst out laughing. " What happened to your hands and  
cheeks?"  
Serena looked down at her grease and oiled covered  
hands. "I had to fix something in my ship, there was  
something wrong with the engines and, well, I can't get this  
stuff off."  
"It's a very becoming look. An especially good look for  
your introduction to the Chief of State and Jedi Master."  
Serena's voice remained imperturbable. "Yeah, I thought  
about that, but I'd rather have this stuff on me than a  
broken down ship." Serena looked around at the  
surrounding area. The sun was right over them, and on  
every side of her were tall trees. The air was hot and sticky  
with no breeze whatsoever.  
Han grabbed her arm lightly, and took her with him. They  
stopped at the front of both of their ships. A thin mist made  
its way through the thick jungles, and Serena could see the  
forms of three people, two men and a woman, enter into the  
clearing.  
Han smiled, and pulled her forward some more. The  
woman ran up to Han, she hugged and kissed him. Serena  
realized instantly that this must be the one, and only, heroic  
Princess Leia. The woman wasn't as tall as Serena had  
expected her to be, but she had a regal bearing and stately  
appearance. She was beautiful.   
Behind Princess Leia came a man, around the same age as  
the Chief of State. He had dark blonde hair, and was  
handsome; it was obvious that he and Leia were related.   
Serena figured that it had to be the Jedi Master Luke  
Skywalker.   
Beside Luke Skywalker was a figure of a man, but his face  
was covered by a dark brown hood that was a part of the  
robe he was wearing. After a moment the hood was  
shrugged back, and Serena found herself staring at a young  
boy. Serena realized that he was probably close to her age.   
He was slightly taller than Skywalker; he had very dark  
brown hair that looked almost like an ebon color and  
midnight blue eyes. He had a straight nose, and impeccable  
skin. The dark haired, dark eyed, young man smiled at her,  
and Serena felt her cheeks becoming hotter; that meant she  
was blushing, something she rarely did. She gave him a  
lame smile back, and then looked at Han again.  
Han walked over to the boy, and hugged him, and then he  
hugged Luke Skywalker.   
Han walked back over to her, and slapped her on the back  
hard enough to make Serena take a step forward. It had  
almost been a stumble, but Serena had caught herself from  
making the error just in time.   
"This, my friends, is Serena." He gave her a lopsided  
smile, and put his arm around her shoulder. Serena almost  
shrugged it off, but decided against it.   
Luke Skywalker stepped up to her. "Nice to meet you  
Serena, but I can see that you had to have fixed something  
on your ship, am I right?" He asked, only glancing  
momentarily at the dark streaks on her cheeks; her eyes  
seemed to be too captivating for him to notice the smudges  
for long.  
Serena looked down at her hands, she spoke  
monotonously. "Yes, I did."   
Leia walked up to her and smiled. Serena was obviously  
taller than Leia, but only by one or two inches. "Hi,  
Serena," she looked at Han curiously, but Serena ignored  
the look and turned her attention to the boy. Their eyes  
met, and Serena held his gaze for as long as she could take  
it. After a moment, she looked away from the deep eyes,  
and stared at the floor of the clearing.   
The boy stood where he was until Han looked at him.  
"Kyp, this is Serena Maldrin; Serena, this is Kyp Durron.   
Kyp, why don't you take Miss Beautiful here, and show her  
where she can wash this stuff off her."  
The boy, Kyp, walked up to her. "Sure thing, Han."  
"Great, kid, thanks." He said jokingly.  
Kyp motioned for Serena to follow him. She walked  
beside him and entered into the fog-coated jungle.  
  
Leia turned to Han. "Who is she, where is she from, and  
why is she here?" She asked, curious and aghast at the fact  
that her husband would pick some girl up off the streets of  
Tatooine and bring her to the Jedi Academy.  
Through the years of her life, Leia had started off as the  
youngest senator in galactic history. She had been adopted  
and reared by Bail Organa of Alderaan. Bail Organa soon  
became a main part of the Rebel Alliance as Senator  
Palpatine began to rise higher and higher in his power and  
cruelty. Soon enough, Leia herself had become one of the  
most outspoken people in the Senate, talking against the  
Empire. Then, aboard her consular ship, the _Tantive IV_,  
Leia had been captured by Darth Vader. She had then been  
rescued by Luke Skywalker, who had been accompanied by  
Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Obi Wan Kenobi. That had  
been the start of her rise to power. She had started off,  
after the Battle of Yavin, as a diplomat trying to get other  
worlds to join in the Rebellion. Later, she and Han had led  
a strike team on Endor to try and destroy a power  
generator; the mission -- thanks to her diplomatic skills on  
convincing the Ewoks to join and help them -- had been  
successful. Over the past years she had become the New  
Republic's ambassador, then she had become a member of  
the Provisional Council that had been formed by Mon  
Mothma, to establish another Galactic Republic. Soon Leia  
had become the member of the Inner Council whose job it  
was to run the government on a day-to-day basis. Now  
Leia was the newly appointed Chief of State, she had power  
over the New Republic, power that she sometimes did not  
want. Yet, her desire for reigning freedom and happiness  
throughout the galaxy was strong enough for her to accept  
the responsibilities thrust upon her.  
Han turned to Leia, and smiled lightly. "Serena, Tatooine,  
she needs a job from Karrde, but I personally say that she  
has the Force."  
Luke's blue eyes lighted up. "Really? How do you know?"   
Suddenly he found himself interested in the young stranger  
who had just appeared at his Academy.  
Han quickly explained everything, from how they had met,  
to when they had reached Yavin Four. Luke listened  
carefully. A frown slightly decorated his face when Han  
explained the attack by the stormtroopers, but it quickly  
faded as Han told the rest of the events. From what he had  
sensed, the girl was of no danger to them; she had no bad  
intentions.  
"That does sound like the Force, but I would have to test  
her first. When Kyp brings her back, I will." Luke said  
casually, as if finding a student wasn't as exciting as it had  
once been. Though, his face belied his excitement.  
"Great kid. Now you owe me one." Han smiled down at  
his brother-in-law. Han Solo, born on Corellia along with a  
huge streak of luck, had started off as a swoop racer. He  
had later enrolled in the Imperial Academy, but his beliefs --  
those including how wrong it was to enslave other beings --  
had lead to his downfall in the Empire. Han had interfered  
with a group of holders who had been abusing an enslaved  
Wookie. He had then been summarily discharged from the  
Imperial Navy. The Wookie that Han had helped out had  
turned out to be Chewbacca. Chewbacca had followed and  
protected him ever since, first as a way to pay back the dept  
he owed Han, and then later stayed on for the two had  
become fast friends. After being given clearance from the  
Empire, Han and Chewbacca -- along with the _Millennium  
Falcon_ -- had taken on various jobs, mostly smuggling  
glitterstim-spice for Jabba the Hutt. By saving Luke on the  
Death Star run from Darth Vader, Han had become a hero.   
He affiliated with the Alliance for the next three years.   
Then, Han had been betrayed by his old friend Lando  
Calrissian, and had been handed over to Vader and Boba  
Fett. He had been frozen in carbonite and taken to Tatooine  
for Jabba the Hutt. Saved by Leia, Luke, Lando, and  
Chewbacca, he had then decided to lead a strike team down  
to the forest moon of Endor. With the help of the Ewoks,  
they had succeeded in destroying the second Death Star.   
Over the next few years he had married Leia and had been  
blessed with three children.  
"I hope that I owe you one, Han."  
"I got a feeling that she has the Force. And, I'm sure that  
she and Kyp will get along." Han looked into the jungle  
where Serena and Kyp had entered, but if they were  
anywhere near the trio, the fog covered them.  
Leia smiled at Han. "Watcha going to do Han, hook them  
up?" She nudged him in the side with her elbow.  
Han pulled his attention away from the jungle and kissed  
Leia's cheek. "I could always try."  
  
  
Serena entered the jungle right behind Kyp. The jungle  
was very wet, and branches were weighted down with thick  
foliage and exotic flowers.  
"So," she asked the boy, "where are your living quarters?"  
"Back the other way."  
"Then why are we going this way?"  
"This is the way to the river where you are going to wash  
off."  
Serena spoke with a hint of amusement. "Oh." She arched  
her right eyebrow. "A river? Sounds fun."   
"It will be faster than going back to the Temple."  
After a while, Serena could here running water in the  
distance. Finally, the jungle thinned out, and in front of  
them was a broad river of flowing water with a greenish hue  
to it. But, what caught Serena's eyes first was the tall  
temple behind the swiftly flowing current of the river.   
Kyp saw Serena studying the crumbling walls of the old  
temple. "It was built by an ancient race called the Massassi.  
They are extinct now at the hand of a Dark Lord of the Sith.   
This temple is a part of the Blue Leaf Cluster. It's one of the  
smaller ones."  
Serena nodded her head, not wanting to talk to the boy  
who -- against her will -- had sparked up her interest. The  
interest was turning into a flame that Serena was trying to  
extinguish with her coldness. Nevertheless, she spoke up.   
"I'd heard about the Massassi once before. I don't know  
where, though."  
Serena walked to the bank of the river and kneeled down  
by the water. She cupped her hands, and splashed water  
onto her face. She scrubbed at her face using her hands.   
Then she splashed water onto her arms, until the grease and  
oil was gone. By then her face was dry, and she turned to  
Kyp who was kneeling beside her.   
"Is it off my face?" She asked, smiling at the seemingly  
stupid question. But, immediately Serena let the smile drop  
from her face, and it was as if it had never been.  
Kyp nodded his head and smiled back as he studied her  
flawless features. "Sure is. So, Serena, where did Han find  
you?" Kyp asked, trying to think of something to talk about  
as he helped her stand up.Kyp asked, trying to think of  
something to talk about as he helped her stand up.  
"Tatooine. Where are you from?"  
"Deyer, Colony on Anoat."  
"Oh, so how old are you?"  
"I'm sixteen, almost seventeen. You?"  
"Eighteen."  
"You have a really nice ship," Kyp said, studying her face,  
again. She was a gorgeous girl, with light brown hair, and  
ravishing eyes. They were interesting because of the thin  
blue ring that surrounded her pupil. Her hair was only  
slightly curled, and it enfolded her face as if it had been  
styled that way, though Kyp knew well enough that no such  
stylist had done this to her hair, it was doing this naturally.   
It was obviously thick, and it surrounded her face  
beautifully.   
She said dryly,"Thanks, my father bought it for me."   
"What's it called?" Kyp asked, noting that her cold and  
uncaring attitude did not match her warm and beautiful  
features.  
"The _Corellian Sunrise._"  
"Nice name." Kyp frowned. "You must be from Corellia  
then."  
Serena nodded her head. "Yes, I am."  
Stunned for an instant, as if someone had kicked him in the  
head with the thought, Kyp remembered that the new  
students would be arriving any minute, and he quickly  
forgot that Serena had just lied to him. One of those  
students he would end up teaching, so he wanted to be at  
the temple when they came. He did not care whom he had  
to teach, just as long as it was someone like Shal'lyindraa,  
or Serena even.  
Shal'lyindraa was a blonde haired, blue eyed, Handerin  
girl. She had come to the Academy a few months ago, and  
had been training in the Force ever since. She was a sweet  
girl, who was seventeen, and liked to talk to anybody who  
would listen. Kyp did not know that much about her, but he  
knew that she considered them both good friends. That was  
fine with him. The only other friend he actually had was  
Dorsk 81, so having a girl like Shal'lyindraa as a friend was  
sometimes rather nice.  
"Come on, we need to start heading for the great  
temple." Kyp looked at the sky. It wasn't cloudless, but  
the sun was visible. The sun would not be setting for  
another two or three hours.   
"Why?" Serena asked him, as they made their way back  
the way they had come.  
"Some new students are coming in. Two others and I have  
to teach one of the students. Once we do this, teach them  
as much as we ourselves have learned, we will be true Jedi  
Knights. At least, I hope we will be. I'm sure by the time  
I'm done teaching someone the ways of the Force, I'll be  
ready. I at least teach them as much as I know then Master  
Skywalker will continue teaching that person." Kyp said  
with a neutral tone to his voice.  
"Wow, sounds great. Being a Jedi Knight, righting  
wrongs, and triumphing over evil. Exciting." Serena said,  
with almost a hint of sarcasm.   
Kyp smiled, either not noticing, or ignoring, the inkling of  
sarcasm that had leaked into Serena's voice. "Yes, it might  
seem that way. But Jedi don't really seek excitement."  
"What do you seek?" Serena questioned, she was just a  
little bit interested in this Jedi business, even though she did  
not want to be.  
"Peace, between us and the entire galaxy. 'There is no  
emotion, there is peace.' That is from the Jedi Code." Kyp  
pushed a large branch out of the way and made sure that it  
did not hit Serena in the face.  
"What is the rest of the Jedi Code?" Serena asked, as they  
trudged along, down the mossy floor of the jungle.  
Serena did not know why she was so interested in keeping  
up a conversation with this stranger, but, she did not want  
to answer that question now.  
"Well," Kyp wiped his forehead where beads of sweat had  
begun to form. "There is no emotion; there is peace. There  
is no passion; there is serenity. There is no ignorance; there  
is knowledge. And, there is no death; there is the Force."  
"Oh, good code, everyone should live by it." Serena  
sighed. She wasn't used to this weather. She was used to  
the dry and hot climate of Tatooine, not this wet and hot  
climate. It was almost becoming boring and irksome.  
"I _wish_ everyone would."  
"Yeah, but then the galaxy would be a boring place."  
Serena pointed out.  
Kyp smiled. "Yes, it would."  
Kyp and Serena came out into the clearing where the ships  
were. Han, Luke, and Leia were gone. Serena pointed up  
as she spoke, "Hey, a transport ship."   
Kyp followed her gaze. In the hazy sky, a small transport  
ship was coming into view. "That's the ship that the new  
students are coming on. We had better hurry," Kyp said as  
he picked up his pace ever so slightly. The damp, heavy air  
was resting on him, and it seemed as if it were sucking up  
his energy with every step he took. He had been at the  
Academy for a long time, and he was just now getting used  
to the humid climate.  
Kyp and Serena walked out of the jungle and across the  
clearing. Serena gasped lightly. In front of them, just a few  
yards away was a huge temple. It was made of gray stone,  
and it towered over her, and over the trees that surrounded  
it. When she and Han had flown in, Serena hadn't noticed  
the temples. She must have been concentrating too hard on  
flying the ship. It had been a long time since she had flown  
it, and she was still getting used to the navigational controls.   
'I wonder,' thought Serena, ' just how many temples like  
this one are located on this place.' The temples were huge,  
and each one would have had to have taken years to build.   
They had to be old, too, judging by the first one she had  
seen that was crumbling away with age and decay. If they  
were as old as she thought, maybe hundreds of years old,  
then the race that built them, the Massassi, might have had  
to have built them with their own hands.   
Kyp took Serena's hand, and pulled her towards the  
temple. They stopped at the entrance, and Kyp looked  
inside. Serena pulled her hand out of Kyp's grasp. "Not  
that many people are here, but I guess there should not be,  
anyway."  
They stepped inside the huge doorway. Before them was a  
capacious white-stoned promenade that led to a raised  
platform. Sunlight from the overhead skylights drifted lazily  
onto it and over the rest of the room. In the corner, nearest  
the platform, a pair of turbolift doors opened, and out  
stepped Han, Leia, and Luke. Standing around in the room  
were fourteen students. Nineteen if she, Kyp, Han, Leia,  
and Luke were counted.   
Kyp took her with him to a corner, and he leaned against  
the wall. Serena stood beside him. "Where are the new  
students?"   
Right as she asked a group of two male humans, one Mon  
Calamarian female, two female humans, one Sullustian male,  
and one female Bothan stepped into the temple. Some of  
them looked as if they were nervous, and others seemed  
indifferent.   
Kyp smiled. "There." He pointed to the new arrivals.  
"I'd already guessed that."  
Kyp looked at the girls. One was very young, maybe ten  
or eleven, and her hand was being held by one of the dark  
haired men. The other girl was around fifteen. 'One really  
young one, or one older one, hard choice,' thought Kyp. It  
wasn't that Kyp would not have said no to teaching the  
Calamarian, but he knew that Cilghal would probably end  
up teaching her.  
"So, which girl are you going to teach? I would pick the  
older one." Serena said impassively.  
"I guess your right." Kyp shrugged, not caring which one  
he was given. Of course, the older one might understand  
things better, and therefore be easier to teach. The younger  
one would not understand things as well, therefore making  
her harder to teach.  
The fifteen-year-old looked at Kyp. She smiled, and  
winked at him. Kyp did not respond, because he was so  
surprised at what the girl had done. No girl had ever done  
that to him.  
"On the other hand Kyp, the younger girl might be easier  
to teach." Serena said, even though Kyp knew that she  
knew it was obvious the younger one would be harder to  
train.  
Kyp smiled. "You sound jealous."  
"I'm not." Serena said, with a hint of embarrassment in her  
voice.  
"Sure."  
Serena crossed her arms over her chest. She watched as  
Luke and Leia walked over to the new students. Some of  
them seemed to be thrilled to be meeting the Chief of State,  
but Serena could not see why. She hadn't cared at all, let  
alone even thought about how lucky she was to have met  
the Chief of State. But, Serena thought coldly, 'that's  
because I'm not lucky to have met her. I don't care who  
she is; she's still just a woman.' Not that Serena disliked  
the attractive woman, she just did not care much for  
politics, and therefore did not care much for Leia Organa.   
Luke Skywalker talked quietly to the new students for a few  
more minutes. When he was done, Luke walked over to  
Serena.  
"Serena, Han told me about the time you two were  
attacked on Tatooine. He said that you warned him ahead  
of time, because of a feeling."  
Serena spoke apathetically, "Yeah. I did." She nodded her  
head, and uncrossed her arms and rested her hands on her  
hips.  
"Well," he stepped closer, "I think that that just might be  
the Force, and I was wondering if I could test you to see if  
you have potential."  
"Um, all right." Serena thought to herself, 'potential for  
what, to become the greatest Jedi of all time? Ha! Like I  
would ever want to stay here, I'd rather rot.'  
Luke looked at her strangely, maybe he had read her mind.   
Serena had heard that the Jedi could read minds. If Luke  
Skywalker had read her mind, then he might not think of her  
as such a great person after all, if he even thought that much  
of her to begin with.   
"Uh, are you reading my mind?" Serena asked.  
Luke shook his head. "No, why?"  
"No reason." Serena said quickly.  
"All right, just relax, and stand there." Luke smiled  
reassuringly to her.   
Kyp watched Luke; he knew what he was doing. Kyp  
remembered Luke doing it to him; Kyp had sent him flying  
across the room. Luke had later explained to Kyp that there  
was a certain place or nub in a persons mind. If, using the  
Force, you pushed on it, you would be sent flying back  
depending if the person had the Force or not. Kyp had seen  
Luke do it to plenty of his students, including Shal'lyindraa.   
He hadn't been pushed as hard as when he had tested Kyp,  
but he had been knocked down. As far as Kyp knew, no  
one else at the Academy was as strong as he was. Of  
course, he hadn't told anyone, he did not want to gloat over  
it. Yet, by now most of the students knew that he was the  
strongest anyway.  
All of a sudden an invisible hand pushed Luke back, hard.   
Serena's eyes fluttered open, and she stared in disbelief at  
what she had just done. She looked down at her hands and  
back to Luke. He was now getting up, and rubbing his  
head.  
Luke came up to her, shaking his head. "Wow, Serena.   
You're really strong." He looked at Kyp. "Not as strong as  
Kyp, but you should be one of my strong students if you  
chose to stay here and train."  
"I'm sorry, I don't know how I did it. I'm sorry." Serena  
stared up at Kyp, then back at Luke in the slightest state of  
confusion.  
"Don't be. I'm glad. Serena, you are very strong in the  
Force. I would be elated if you would stay here and train to  
become a Jedi Knight."  
Serena's mouth dropped open. She saw Han come  
towards them out of the corner of her eye. "I – I don't, I  
don't know. I mean, um, I mean . . ." Serena's voice trailed  
off as she saw Han walking to her. 'Okay, so now I have  
the Force. I just told myself that I'd rather rot than stay  
here, so how do I say no?' Serena was brought out of her  
thoughts as Han grabbed her arm.  
Han pulled her over to him a bit roughly. He whispered in  
her ear, "Look, Serena, if you say yes, then think of how  
great a smuggler you'd be. Talon Karrde would _have_ to  
hire you! And you would be trained by no other than Kyp!"  
Serena looked over at Kyp. The fifteen-year-old girl with  
blonde and silver streaked hair was walking over towards  
him, smiling. Serena frowned. She quickly walked over to  
Luke. "All right. I would love to become a Jedi Knight."  
Luke smiled warmly at her. "Great," he turned towards  
Kyp; the teenager was just about to reach him when Luke  
called Kyp over.  
Kyp reached Luke and Serena before the girl could talk to  
him. The girl frowned for a moment, then walked away.   
Luke noticed out of the corner of his eye Serena's satisfied  
look as the girl left. She wasn't smiling -- Luke wondered if  
she even knew how to smile -- but Serena was obviously  
happy.  
"Kyp, would you mind teaching Serena?" Luke asked, as  
he wondered if he would ever be able to understand women.  
Kyp's eyes widened as he stared at Serena, "You mean  
that she is going to train here?"  
"Yes, she is very strong, and it might be hard, but I am  
sure that you could teach her perfectly."  
"I'd love --" Kyp's ecstatic voice faded -- "I'd like to." He  
finished calmly.  
Luke nodded his head, as he wondered if he had acted like  
that as a teenager. "Great," he spoke calmly, " now you  
have a student. Teach."  
Luke left Kyp, and made his way towards Cilghal.  
  
  
"Well," Kyp turned to face Serena, "I guess now I'm your  
teacher."  
"Great, where do we start?" Serena asked, trying not to  
let the doubt that was seeping in her mind control her  
thoughts. Why had she agreed to stay? Now she'd end up  
protecting the New Republic or some other crap like that.  
"Well, first I show you a room, get you a robe, then I go in  
order in what Master Skywalker taught us." 'I guess,' Kyp  
thought, 'I just have to remember what he said: 'don't  
teach your student everything that I taught you word for  
word or even in the same order. Teach them what you  
know . . .Use the Force for your guidance.'  
Kyp led Serena to a turbolift. They went down one level,  
down a long hallway, and through a large door. In front of  
them was another hallway; this one had twelve doors on  
either side. Kyp and Serena walked to the very end of the  
hallway. Kyp stopped at the two last doors on the right side.  
He opened the door to the very last room. Inside lay a  
small cot, a bowl positioned on a narrow, waist high table;  
refresher station was to the left of the entrance. "Like I  
said, Jedi are very primitive." Kyp said.  
"No problem. All I have to do is get my clothes out of my  
ship. It'll be great. Trust me, I have been in places worse  
than this. A lot worse."  
Lying on the bed was a brown robe like the one Kyp was  
wearing. Kyp picked it up, and handed it to Serena. She  
put it on.  
"This is your Jedi robe. I'm sure you noticed the others  
wearing one, including me."  
"Thanks." She brushed a lock of her hair out of her face.   
No smile came with the thank you, but it did not seem to  
bother Kyp, not too much at least.  
They walked out of the room together, and Kyp closed the  
door behind him. Kyp paused at the door beside her room.   
"This is my room, so if you ever need anything, I'll probably  
be in here."  
"All right. Sounds simple enough."  
Kyp smiled lightly at her. For a moment he studied her  
hair. It was a curling from the moist heat; a lock of her hair  
fell in her face. Serena absentmindedly pushed it back. It  
fell in her face again; this time she ignored it.  
"Come on. First, we head outside." Kyp motioned for  
Serena to follow him.  
Kyp and Serena walked back through the hallway, but at  
the doorway turned the opposite way from which they had  
come. They went into another turbolift and up one floor.   
Serena followed Kyp into a dark, damp hallway. She could  
hear dripping water in the distance. There was a slight  
musty smell.   
"I take it very few people use this way to get outside."   
Serena mumbled.  
"I'm not sure, but I think I'm the only one who really  
knows about it." Kyp answered her. Serena's eyes widened  
in surprise, she did not know she had talked loud enough for  
him to hear her.  
As if answering her question, Kyp said: "With the Force, a  
Jedi can hear and see things normal people can't."  
Serena nodded her head, and then realized Kyp could not  
see her. "Yeah, I understand. How old are these temples  
anyway?"  
"Well, they are very, very old. Maybe even thousands of  
years old. I'm not sure, there's a girl here named Tionne, if  
you really want to know, you should ask her. All I know is  
that they were built by the Massassi for their master." Kyp's  
voice began to have an angry edge to it, though Serena  
sensed it more than heard it. "Their master was a Dark Jedi,  
named Exar Kun."  
Serena felt a shiver run up her spine. "He must have been  
very evil; his name even sounds evil. I don't think that I  
would like to ever meet a Dark Jedi."  
"You're right, you don't." Kyp said dryly. After a brief  
pause he began to talk again, "I have, and I wish every day  
that I hadn't."  
Serena frowned. ' I would like to know how he met one,'  
she mused, 'later; I will ask him later.' Up ahead was a  
small wooden door. Kyp opened it, and they stepped out  
into the jungle. The trees covered up most of the light  
trying to reach the floor of the jungle, so Serena's eyes grew  
accustomed to the dim light quickly. The humidity was  
high, and there was a thin mist floating through the branches  
of the tall trees, and around the long vines which hung from  
them.  
Kyp began to walk forward, Serena ran up beside him.   
The new robe she was wearing did not really help to make  
her any cooler. Kyp and the other students did not seem to  
mind the heat of Yavin Four. This confused her, but soon  
she was sure she'd find out why.   
"Where are we going?" Serena asked, trying to keep her  
mind off the comfortless temperature of the jungle.  
"I don't know." Kyp shrugged, keeping his gaze straight  
ahead.  
"But--"  
"Patience, is the main essence of a Jedi."  
Serena furrowed her brow.   
"Remember that Serena, it's important."  
"Okay." Serena shrugged her shoulders. What was she  
doing here?  
Serena followed Kyp for a while. He did not bother to  
speak to her, and that bothered her. Serena could not stand  
the silence, so she decided to ask another question. It might  
not be the brightest one, but it would be good enough. "So,  
should I call you Master, or what?"  
Kyp smiled briefly to himself, "No."  
"Oh." Serena gave up trying to make a conversation. It  
was no use, if Kyp wanted to talk, he would talk. She  
should not let it bother her; she did not want it to bother  
her. She needed to stay passive. After all, that was what  
she had been trained to be like.   
Kyp walked on until they both reached a small clearing.   
"Here, sit." Kyp motioned for Serena to sit as he walked  
around picking up small sticks. He put them in a pile and  
took two small rocks. He began to knock them together,  
until a spark flew out, and started all the wood on fire.  
Serena's eyes widened. "How did you do that? Fire from  
stones?"  
Kyp sat himself across from Serena on the other side of  
the small fire. "I learned it when I was very young. It  
doesn't matter." Kyp waved the thought off with his hand.  
"Now Serena. Close your eyes." Serena closed her eyes.   
Kyp watched her carefully, looking over each part of her  
face. "Remember that feeling you get when you are about  
to know something is going to go wrong? Try and get that  
feeling again. Just concentrate on it, I'm sure you'll find it."  
Kyp sat there, watching Serena. She frowned lightly, but  
she kept her eyes closed. Kyp sat waiting patiently. After a  
while her face cleared up.   
"Good, you found it. Take it, and concentrate. Use it to  
feel everything around you. Unlike your eyes and ears, you  
can trust this. Trust the Force. It _is_ your eyes and ears.   
With the Force you can see the entire galaxy, the universe.   
Spread your powers, move past the trees, the sky, and enter  
space. Use the Force."  
Serena gasped. All around her were stars, she looked  
around herself. There was Yavin Four below her, and she  
saw herself and Kyp. She soared past the stars, up and up.   
She was free, happy, and then unexpectedly cold. Darkness  
enveloped her; it grabbed hold of her, and began to pull,  
pull her towards its mouth. A black hole, sucking up  
everything good, destroying it, making everything it took  
turn into evil. Serena pulled back, she used all her strength,  
but she kept getting closer. It was taunting her with its  
power, showing her things that she could have, power,  
glory, money, all she had to do was let it take her in.  
Serena opened her eyes. Everything that she had seen flew  
at her, knocking her breath out of her. Serena put her  
hands on the damp soil, beads of sweat glistened on her  
forehead. She looked at Kyp, eyes wide. "What _was_that?" She asked, letting surprise fill her voice.  
"The dark side." Kyp said softly. "Anger, fear, and  
aggression. Those are what can lead you astray, and bring  
you over from the light to the dark. You must be aware that  
you, Serena, you -- especially you -- could easily turn to it."   
Serena frowned. "How do I fight it?"  
"Whatever you do, use the good side, fight for freedom,  
justice, and rapport. Never let it take you. It will consume  
you, everything about you. It can destroy your life, your  
body, your mind, and your soul. Once you start down the  
dark path, it is nearly impossible to break free."  
"How do I know that what I am doing is right?" Serena  
suddenly did not know if she wanted to become a Jedi. It  
seemed to be too risky. She did not know Kyp that well,  
but he talked as if he knew what he was doing.   
"You will know. You knew just a minute ago that it was  
evil. But it can come in so many forms. Always be on your  
guard. Remember, anger, fear, and aggression lead to the  
dark side."  
" I will."  
"Now, clear your mind." Serena took a deep breath, and  
her face cleared up.  
"Good. Now, find the power within you again." This time,  
it only took her a few minutes to find it.   
"Now, I want you to concentrate. Jedi cannot feel heat, or  
cold, or pain. The Force can protect you from some things,  
it can create a shield around you. Use the Force, put your  
hand in the fire." Kyp said calmly.  
"What?!"  
"Concentrate! Concentrate; don't lose your hold. Let the  
Force flow through you, around you. It can protect you.   
Now, put your hand in the fire."  
Serena sat, staring at the fire, she slowly lifted her hand up.  
"It won't hurt you, as long as you are letting the Force  
flow through you and around you. Become a part of the  
fire, Serena. The Force binds everything in the galaxy  
together. It is binding you to the fire. If you use the Force,  
the fire can not hurt you." Kyp watched her patiently. That  
was one thing he was glad of. He was patient. Now he  
could understand why Master Skywalker was so patient.   
With all the students he had taught, he _had_ to be patient.   
He could vaguely sense the doubt in Serena's mind. He  
wanted to reassure her, but he had said enough. It was up  
to her now.   
Serena raised her hand farther up. She took a deep breath.   
How could she be a Jedi if she wasn't even brave enough to  
put her hand in the fire? But, why did she want to become a  
Jedi in the first place? Anyway, if she burned her hand, there  
was always bacta. She did not want to look like an idiot in  
front of Kyp. Not that she cared what he thought.  
Serena felt the Force surround her, penetrate her. She  
took a deep breath, held it, and closed her eyes. She thrust  
her hand into the burning flames, and kept it there. She felt  
nothing, and she heard nothing. Serena slowly opened her  
eyes, and pulled her hand out of the flames. Not even a  
scorch mark was left on her hand.   
"Nothing! It didn't do anything to my hand! I can't  
believe it." Serena stared at her hand, turning it over,  
examining it. How?"  
Kyp smiled happily. "The Force is how. I knew that you  
could do it. I knew it."  
Serena dropped her hand to the ground. "I, I'm stunned. I  
did not know that I could do _that_."  
Kyp smiled gently at her already knowing that he would  
not receive a smile back. Kyp, using the Force,  
concentrated on the fire, and it went out. He helped Serena  
up. "That's all we are going to do for today."  
Serena frowned. "But . . . I want to learn more." She said  
slowly and carefully, not knowing what to expect from Kyp.  
"You will tomorrow."  
"Why not today?" She asked stubbornly. It, of course,  
was her nature to be stubborn. She did not mind, anyway,  
she was curious of why she could not.  
"Tonight, come over to my room before you go to bed. I  
want to tell you a little story of why only learning just one  
or two things a day is good."  
"All right. I'll come over." Why could not he just tell her  
now? "I don't understand you, Kyp Durron."  
"Good, no more questions until tonight. Okay?"  
"Uh! Not fair."  
"Great." Kyp said as he watched Serena roll her eyes.  
Kyp and Serena started walking back the way that they  
had come. Kyp looked up at the sky. From what he could  
see through all the leaves, the sun was almost gone. "We  
had better hurry back to the temple." Kyp said.   
Serena looked at the sky. "Yeah. The sun is almost gone."   
They both quickened their pace.  
Kyp and Serena made it back to the temple just as the sun  
let out its last rays of light. The wooden door was cracked  
open, and Kyp opened it the rest of the way stepping in.   
Serena closed the door behind her, and followed Kyp  
through the dark tunnel again.   
Kyp and Serena walked through the hallway with the  
doors to other rooms, and turned a corner. They entered a  
large room, with four long tables. At one table sat Luke  
Skywalker, sitting between Leia and Cilghal. Beside Leia  
sat Han Solo. In front of them each was a small bowl of  
thin, watery soup.  
Kyp sat in front of Luke, with Serena beside him. Luke  
smiled at both of them.   
"So how did it go?" Luke asked them.  
"Great Master Skywalker. Serena is really talented." Kyp  
said.  
"Good. I'm glad to hear it." Luke turned back to Leia,  
and talked with her quietly.  
Serena looked down at the soup. "Well Serena, I hope  
you like this soup, because this is what we eat, like I said --  
."  
"You Jedi are primitive."  
Kyp smiled at her. "Yes, we are. And, some of the  
younger students here fix our meals, they aren't the greatest  
cooks."  
Kyp looked at the doorway into the room, and as he did,  
Dorsk, and Shal'lyindraa walked in the room. Behind  
Dorsk was the same young girl Kyp had seen earlier that  
day. She walked over to a table, and sat by the silver haired  
Tionne. Dorsk, and Shal'lyindraa came over to Kyp and  
Serena.   
"Hey guys." Kyp said.  
"Hey Kyp," Shal'lyindraa said smiling at him as she pulled  
her long blonde hair back behind her shoulders.  
"Hi." Dorsk looked at Serena as he sat beside Kyp. "I did  
not see her come in with the new students."  
"She came with Han."  
"Oh." The olive skinned alien blinked his yellow eyes  
slowly.  
Shal'lyindraa went over and sat on the other side of  
Serena. "Hi, I'm Shal'lyindraa, but just call me Shal if you  
want."   
Serena managed a weak smile for Shal'lyindraa, and  
studied her face. Her brow was broad, and she had a  
pointed chin and full lips. "Hey, I'm Serena."  
"So, enjoy your first day at Yavin Four?" The young girl  
asked, trying to make a friendly conversation.  
"Well, its different from what I've been doing all my life,  
but yes. I have."  
"Good. It's nice here, not like Hander, but very nice.   
Some day you need to go on top of this temple, and watch  
the sunrise, or set. I guess it doesn't matter which one.   
They are really pretty."  
Serena asked, "You're from Hander?"  
"Sure am." After a moment of closely studying Serena's  
face, Shal'lyindraa's eyes slowly began to widen. She  
gasped and covered her hand with her mouth.   
"What?" Serena asked, as a wash of recognition swept  
over her.  
Shal'lyindraa's hand dropped from her mouth. "You're that  
girl!"  
Serena narrowed her gray-green eyes, then they widened  
as Serena finally recognized the girl. A long, almost  
forgotten memory crashed like a tidal wave in Serena's  
mind, soaking her mind with images. It was of a young,  
blonde haired, Handerin girl, with her hand outstretched and  
eyes closed, muttering something under her breath. The  
corners of Serena's lips lifted up in a wry smile as she  
recalled the alien's blaster flying away from it's clawed hand  
before it could shoot her.   
"I remember you," Serena said, "you saved my life.   
Thanks."  
Shal'lyindraa nodded her head. "No problem."  
Kyp turned to the wide-eyed faces of Serena and  
Shal'lyindraa. "I see you know each other?" he asked.  
"Well, yes." Shal'lyindraa said staring at Serena, as Serena  
stared back.  
"That's nice." Kyp said. "How do you know each other  
anyway?"  
"After I moved from Hander to Corellia and then to  
Tatooine I met her. Serena and I always seemed to run into  
each other at odd times."  
"I can't believe it!" Serena said looking at Shal'lyindraa's  
big crystal blue eyes.  
"Neither can I. It's weird, but nice. Maybe now we can  
get to know each other better."  
"That would be great. I always had wanted to meet you, I  
just could not, though, whenever we met."  
"Yes, me too."  
Kyp spoke with an edge of sarcasm to his voice. "Now  
that we all know each other, everyone is happy, right?"   
"Yes," Shal'lyindraa stood up, " sorry but I have to go.   
I've grievously fallen behind in my meditation. I'll see both  
of you tomorrow. Maybe we can get together around noon,  
and talk or something."  
"All right, bye Shal." Serena said watching her leave.  
"Wow Kyp, she is really pretty. She has such beautiful  
hair and eyes." Serena said as Shal'lyindraa left the room.  
"Yes. She does. That's what makes her so pretty."  
Serena's cheeks turned pink. "Yes, I bet every boy likes  
her."  
"Well, she is very friendly. I guess most guys, and girls,  
here know her as a friend."  
"I can't blame them. She looks kind." Serena looked at  
her untouched stew.  
Kyp began to laugh. Serena looked at him, her cheeks  
burning red. "What? What's so funny?"  
"You! You are jealous of her!"  
"I am not." Serena sniffed, and held her nose up in the air.   
"It is impossible for me to feel jealousy over a worthless  
human."  
Kyp laughed harder. "You are very jealous of her, with  
those _big_ blue eyes, and that _silky_ blonde hair." He  
said, joking on Serena.  
Serena's cheeks burned fire. "I might be, but just a little."   
She folded her arms over her chest.  
"Just to make you happy, I think that your hair is very  
pretty, and your eyes are very, very, dreamy."  
"You're a guy, you should not care. But, hey, I have pretty  
hair and dreamy eyes." Serena said sarcastically.  
"And a nice figure?" Kyp furrowed his brow and shrugged  
his shoulders helplessly. "It doesn't matter --"  
Serena interrupted Kyp. "It would help if you had stated I  
had a nice figure instead of asking me whether I had one or  
not."  
Kyp smiled. "How about this: to me, you are as pretty as  
she, and she is as pretty as you. On a scale of one to ten,  
you are both nine's."  
"Then, who's ten?"  
"My mother." Kyp laughed.  
Serena playfully hit his arm. "Great, I was beaten by your  
mother. Well, I think that _my_ mother _was_ prettier than  
me."  
"Great Serena, so are you happy now?"  
"As happy as I can be." Serena said uncaringly.  
"Good. Aren't you hungry?"  
"No. Not really."  
"Neither am I, wanna go to bed?" Kyp asked simply.  
Serena looked around herself and at the few students who  
were sitting around the large room of the Great Temple.   
She recognized some of the newer students from earlier that  
day. The others, she had never seen before. It did not  
matter much to her, but what did matter was that she had no  
idea why she had agreed to stay here.  
Serena had never cared for the Jedi Knights, she did not  
even believe in the Force, but now she did. She had to  
believe in it. 'The only reason,' Serena thought to herself,  
'I stayed here was because . . .of Kyp. I hate to admit it,  
but that's why.' Not wanting to think about Kyp in that  
way, Serena pulled herself out of her thoughts and nodded.   
  
"Sure."  
  
  
Serena entered into her new room. At the end was a small  
barred window, letting in a cool night breeze. Serena took  
her robe off, and laid it on the cot. She looked out the  
window. Where the clouds were parted, in the dark sky,  
small stars were visible. She had nothing to do but go to  
bed. Yet, she wasn't tired, and she did not want to sit and  
nothing. Then she remembered that Kyp had wanted her in  
his room that night. Now was the best time to go because  
he might forget and go on to bed. 'I guess,' Serena  
brooded, 'I could get my stuff out of my ship.'  
Serena looked to see if there was a mirror in the room,  
there was. It was in the far corner next to the wooden door.  
She did not look in it; she did not want to see how horrible  
she looked. Serena walked out of her room and knocked  
softly on Kyp's door. It opened before her, and in the  
doorway stood Kyp.  
"Oh, good. You came." Kyp had also taken his robe off,  
and it was lying on his bed.  
"Yeah, and I was wondering, it is okay if I go outside to  
my ship and get a few things, isn't it?"  
"It is, I'll come with you if you like." Kyp said, studying  
her beautiful face once again.  
"Sure." Serena shrugged, figuring he would talk to her on  
the way to and from her ship.  
Kyp and Serena left the room, and started walking down  
the hallway towards the turbolift. Kyp did not bother to say  
anything until he and Serena were outside the temple, and  
well into the jungle. Serena was beginning to wonder if he  
would say anything. Not that it mattered; it was a beautiful  
night, even if it was a bit creepy. She heard chirping sounds  
all around her feet, and she was sure that every now and  
then, yellow eyes would look down at them from the  
branches above. She could not let Kyp see that this freaked  
her out in any way. She did not want to give him, or  
anyone, the impression that she was some helpless girl.   
"You see Serena, " Serena was startled when Kyp began,  
"as your teacher, I will tell you all about myself, as long as I  
know that it will somehow help you to understand more,  
and learn more, about the Force. You and I will be teacher  
and student, mentor and friend. But, that's all.   
Understand?"  
Serena almost rolled her eyes, but stopped herself. "Yes.   
Of course. Wouldn't want any love flowing between us.   
You know?" Sarcasm filled Serena's voice to overflowing.  
Kyp did not answer her, instead he continued talking.  
"When I was sixteen, Han found me in the spice mines of  
Kessel. He rescued me, and found out that I had the Force.  
He took me to the Academy, and it turned out that I was  
very strong in the Force. That was good and bad.  
"I learned as much as I could, as fast as I could. I did not  
care if I understood it or not. Finally Master Skywalker was  
beginning to reach the limits of what he knew and could  
teach me. I was angry because I knew that he was hiding  
something. I knew that there had to be more that I could  
learn.  
"I will admit that I was very careless in learning, and I did  
not fully grasp what I had been taught. I wanted to learn  
more, so one night a dark spirit came to me. It was the  
Dark Jedi, Exar Kun. He told me that he could teach me  
more than Master Skywalker would ever know, let alone  
teach. I accepted his offer to become his student.  
"Since I was naive, and I thought I could fight it, I quickly  
began to sink to the dark side, little by little. I really  
thought that I could fight it, that Exar Kun had no control  
over me, but he did. He had control over my mind, body,  
and soul. I did not even stop to think about what I was  
doing, what was happening to me.  
"In turning to the dark side, I killed my only brother,  
almost killed Master Skywalker, and came close to killing  
my best friend. I was a fool, and I don't want the same  
thing to happen to you, Serena. I almost turned to the dark  
side, because I wanted to learn more, and more. Even  
though I did not even know anything at all. And considering  
what happened earlier today, I'm afraid you could just as  
easily turn to the dark side if you let yourself fall into it."  
Serena and Kyp made it to the _Corellian Sunrise_, and  
Serena quickly typed in the code, opening the hatch. She  
and Kyp climbed in; Serena walked to the back and stuffed  
a black duffel bag full with her belongings.   
What Kyp had been telling her made her uncomfortable.   
Maybe being a Jedi should not be as easily put as being fun  
and exciting. Serena felt a cold chill creep down her spine.   
Kyp had turned to the dark side. She hadn't heard about  
that on Tatooine, but since she hadn't hung out with  
anyone, she wouldn't have reason to know. She had only  
vaguely heard of the Jedi Academy, so of course she would  
not have known about Kyp's dark side experience.   
Kyp came up behind her after having walked through her  
ship. "Nice ship. The inside, and outside are beautiful. It  
must have been very expensive."  
"Well, my father got it for me, so I guess all I can say is  
that he really loved me." Serena said slowly and uneasily.  
Kyp nodded trying to ignore the restlessness in her voice.  
He and Serena left the ship, closing it up. Serena slung the  
bag over her shoulder, and they walked through the jungle  
silently.   
As soon as they entered a small clearing, Kyp looked up at  
the sky. There were plenty of stars out, but no moon. A  
light wind blew through the jungle making him shiver. It  
was peaceful here, peaceful like Deyer was. The beautiful  
homes they had lived in on terraformed lakes had been the  
perfect place to grow up. It had been so beautiful -- so  
wonderful there. It had been perfect, until the Empire had  
practically destroyed it. Day by day it was slowly putting  
itself back together. For the past eight years it had been  
building its cities and homes back. It was a surprise that the  
government hadn't collapsed.   
When they reached their rooms, Kyp stopped outside of  
Serena's door. "Serena, before you go to bed, can I ask you  
something?" the young man asked her.  
"Sure." Serena looked up at Kyp, widening her gray-green  
eyes innocently. Just as long as he did not question her  
about her past, she did not really mind what Kyp wanted to  
know.  
"Since you _are_ my student, I was just wondering if you  
could tell me about yourself. Your past and everything."   
Serena's lower lip trembled slightly; she looked down at  
the floor. "My parents died when I was fourteen, I did odd  
jobs until Han came." She said softly.  
Kyp put his hand on her chin, and lifted her face up; he  
looked down at her. Kyp looked into her resplendent gray-  
green eyes that were now filling up with tears. He knew she  
was lying, even without using the Force he could easily tell.   
"Serena, why lie?" He asked her as gently as he could  
manage.  
"I, I'm not." She could not believe what was happening,  
and she could not believe she was breaking down like this in  
front of Kyp. If he could just walk away right now,  
everything would be okay. He did not.   
"You are Serena. I know it. Tell me."  
"I -- I won't. I can't."  
"Serena, secrets lead to sadness, sadness leads to  
depression, depression leads to anger, anger leads to hatred,  
hatred leads to darkness. Tell me."  
"No. I can't. I don't care what secrets lead to."  
Kyp put his hand on her cheek, and wiped away a single  
tear. "You can too, tell me." He said blandly.  
Serena jerked away from his unwanted, pleasant touch.   
She looked up at him angrily for a short moment, angered  
that he would make her act like this. Angered that she was  
letting herself act like this. Serena quickly went into her  
room before she could say or do anything that would hurt  
Kyp or herself even worse. She slammed the door shut  
behind her.  
Kyp stood there looking at the closed door. 'Whoa,' he  
thought, startled at what had just happened, 'I _have_ to  
find out about her.'  
  
  
Serena lay on her bed, in the dark, staring out the window.   
She closed her stinging eyes, the last tear rolled down her  
cheek, and onto the pillow. Serena began to think of all her  
father had done, how it had ruined her life, how she hated  
him, but he was her father after all, she loved him . . . but  
she hated him so much.  
The coldness came again. Serena shivered over and over  
anew, and broke out into a cold sweat. It was in the back  
of her mind, It was getting larger. It was telling her to let  
out her anger, to get revenge, to kill. She could be so  
powerful . . . 'I was a fool, and I don't want the same thing  
to happen to you . . . anger, fear, and aggression . . .'  
Kyp's words echoed through the darkness in her mind.   
Serena quickly sat up; she felt beads of icy sweat running  
down her forehead. The coldness was still there; she could  
not get rid of it. 'Anger, fear, and aggression . . .' Serena  
slipped off the cot, and stumbled over to the sink. She  
threw water on her face, and sat in a dark corner. 'I can  
fight it; I have to.' She thought to herself as her now heavy  
eyes began to close against her will, and an unpeaceful sleep  
took over.  
  
  
Back in the temple, in the grand audience chamber, Exana  
Chitin sat beside Tionne listening to her beautiful music and  
soft voice. Exana closed her large brown eyes and smiled.   
She leaned against the wall, and rested her head on Tionne's  
shoulder.  
Tionne stopped playing. "Are you tired?"   
"No, I was just enjoying your music. It's very pretty."  
"Thank you, Exana." Tionne smiled down at the young girl  
and began to play her instrument again, this time not  
singing.  
Tionne continued to gently pluck the cords of her  
instrument, all the while watching as a young man began to  
walk towards her and Exana. Tionne quickly figured he  
was close to her age, maybe a year or two younger. She  
had never seen him before, so she quickly figured that he  
had come off of the transport that had arrived with new  
students earlier that day. Tionne stopped playing and looked  
down to ask Exana if she knew the young man. Exana was  
smiling broadly at the man. Tionne then brought her face  
up and looked straight into the gray eyes of the man who  
was now towering over her.  
"Tionne, this is my brother, Guy. Guy this is Tionne."   
Exana said cheerfully.  
Guy smiled at Tionne and studied her hair that had to have  
been made out of spun silver. "Nice to meet you, Tionne."  
"The same to you, Guy."  
"That instrument you have is interesting. Did you make  
it?" Guy asked, trying to make a conversation.   
"Yes I did." Her pearly white eyes lightened up.  
"It makes beautiful music, please, keep playing." Guy  
spoke as he sat down beside his younger sister.  
Tionne smiled lightly at him and began to play again. Guy  
pushed Exana's long black hair away from her face.   
"Did you have a nice day Exana?" Guy asked smiling down  
at the girl.  
"Sure did, my teacher is very nice. I like him."  
"Good." Guy answered, glad that his sister was enjoying  
her time here. He had given up his future on Chandrila to  
do this with his sister, and he did not want it ruined.  
"How was your day, Guy?"  
"Fine, I learned many things from Master Skywalker."  
"I'm glad we came here, Guy. And I am sure once mom  
and dad see why we ran away, they will be very proud of  
us."  
"I'm sure they will, Exana."  
"Guy?" Exana asked tiredly.  
"Yes?"  
"Will we become Jedi Knights together?"  
"Yes, of course." Guy gave her a quizzical look. "Well,  
unless I die." Exana's eyes widened fearfully. "But of  
course, I'm just joking like always."  
Exana looked at him meanly. "Not funny, Guy. You are  
not going to die, but do you promise you will?"  
"Will what? Die?" Guy asked, his voice betraying the joke.   
"No! Do you promise we will become Jedi together?"  
Exana asked, remaining serious.  
"I promise."  
Exana smiled. "Great! We will be the best Jedi in  
history."  
"Okay, Exana, sure." Guy rolled his eyes at his sister's  
childish words.   
Tionne paused in her playing and turned to study Guy.   
Guy brought his gray eyes up, and met Tionne's eyes.   
Tionne smiled, and turned away so she could continue  
playing her instrument.  
"Exana, I think it's time for you to go to bed." Guy said,  
watching Tionne play her instrument.  
"But that's not fair."  
"Go on now."  
Exana gave up the argument easily. "Ohhh, all right."   
She hugged Guy.  
"Goodnight Guy, Tionne." Exana walked out of the room,  
heading for her bedroom.  
Guy turned to Tionne. "I would guess that she has taken a  
liking to you?"  
"Yes. She is very sweet."  
"Yes. She is." Guy nodded his head in agreement as he  
ran his fingers through his onyx black hair.  
Tionne's curiosity finally got the best of her. "Did you  
two really run away from home?"  
"Yes, I don't believe that our parents would have let us  
go. So Exana and I decided that it would be best if we  
came here."  
"Where are you from?"  
"Chandrila."  
"Isn't that where Mon Mothma is from?" Tionne asked,  
already knowing the answer.  
Guy nodded his head. "Yes it is. You wouldn't believe  
how many museums there are of her and the resurrection of  
the Republic there. It's amazing."  
"She's a very great woman. She changed the course of  
history, with some help of course."  
Guy leaned against the stone wall of the temple, watching  
Tionne. "So, you know a lot about the history of the Jedi  
Knights?"  
"Yes. I enjoy it, it grasps my attention somewhat better  
than other things."   
"I'm really interested. Could you tell me what you know?"  
Guy asked, immediately feeling a pull towards this girl.  
"I know a lot."  
"That's even better. Tell me all of it." Guy stated, smiling  
at the beautiful girl.  
  
(A/n* Well, that's it for Part I, Part II should be out at least  
by Sunday! Hope you enjoyed it.) 


End file.
